SEROLOGIC SURVEYS OF HUMAN CANCER PATIENTS FOR ANTIBODY TO ADENOVIRUS T ANTIGENS

Gilden, R. V. (FLOW Laboratories, Inc., 12601 Twinbrook Pkwy, Rockville, Md. 20852), J. Kern, Y.K. Lee, F.Rapp, J.LMelnick, J. L Riggs, E. H. Lennette, B.Zbar, H. J. Rapp, H. C. Turner and R. J. Huebner. Serologic surveys of human cancer patients for antibody to adenovirus T antigens. Amer. J. Epid., 1970, 97; 500–509.—Three hundred and eighty-nine sera from advanced solid tumor cases and controls were tested for complement-fixing antibody to the T antigens of the known oncogenic adenoviruses, both human and infra-human. The results obtained appear clear in showing no indication of antibody activity in cancer patient or control sera to any of the adenovirus T antigens. For the human adenovirus A, B, and C subgroups, the use of partially purified antigens and antigen-containing transformed rat embryo cells eliminated those sera which reacted with crude preparations. One exception in the C group also reacted with rat cells transformed by SV20, SA 7 and normal rat cells. This particular serum and several others reacted with virtually every available preparation, including normal cells. A few reactions were obtained with T antigen preparations of infra-human adenoviruses which also appeared to be non-specific and were obscured by reactions with normal cell antigens. The sera were also tested for ability to react in the fluorescent antibody test with adenovirus antigens induced in the abortive cycle in African Green monkey kidney cells by adenovirus types 2, 7, and 12, in the absence and presence of cytosine arabinoside. A small percentage of these sera reacted with uninoculated cells; these reactions resembled those obtained with serum from patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. An additional small number reacted with some of the adenovirus antigens induced in the cells but the per cent reacting was approximately the same in control and patient groups. Therefore, this test also clearly indicates that the prevalence of antibodies against the adenovirus tumor antigens in the sera from cancer patients does not differ from the prevalence of antibodies in a control group.