Immunogenic Properties of Solubilized Tumour Antigen from an RNA Virus-transformed Neoplasm

NUMEROUS attempts have been made to solubilize tumour specific transplantation antigens (TSTA) of carcinogen-induced neoplasms and of virus-specified tumour antigens (VSTA) from the cell membranes of DNA and RNA virus-induced neoplasms 1–6 . Usually, yields of biologically active materials are low and the materials are labile. Soluble antigenic materials obtained from transplantable hepatomas 1,2 and purified by gel filtration were found to have limited biological activity. Although immunological specificity was preserved, the assays used were of relatively low precision. Tumour rejection, a major function of both TSTA and VSTA, was not observed.