Expression of the Tumor-Associated Glycoproteins Mca, Ca 125 and Bw 495/36-P in Epithelial Tumors of the Kidney and the Urinary Bladder

Abstract

The differential expression of the tumor-associated glycoproteins MCA, CA 125 and BW 495/36-P was investigated in 11 renal cell carcinomas and 11 urinary bladder carcinomas and compared with their expression in non-neoplastic tissue preparations from the kidney (n = 9) and urinary bladder (n = 12). The glycoproteins were demonstrated immunohistologically in frozen sections and additionally, in some cases, in paraffin sections. MCA and BW 495/36-P positive cells were present in all preparations except for a grade I transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder, in which no MCA-expression could be detected. In the non-neoplastic renal tissue mainly the cells of the distal tubuli were stained by the antibodies against these two glycoproteins. Carcinoma cells of the kidney and of the urinary bladder showed an increased expression of both epitopes. CA 125, in comparison, was strongly expressed in 3 of the 11 urinary bladder carcinomas investigated but could only be shown in a few cells of a single renal cell carcinoma. Normal renal tissue showed no and the urinary bladder only very isolated CA 125 positive epithelial cells. Apart from this distribution, strong staining of the connective tissue fibers with CA 125 antibody was seen in all paraffin sections, but not in the frozen sections. This leads to the supposition that in these structures there is a CA 125 cryptantigen. The consistent expression of MCA as well as the virtual lack of CA 125 in the renal cell carcinomas are in contrast with our previous serological results, in which patients with metastatic renal cell carcinomas showed increased CA 125 in approx. 50% of cases whereas only approx. 20% had increased MCA serum levels.