A HUMAN MONOCLONAL-ANTIBODY REACTING WITH MERKEL CELLS - IMMUNOFLUORESCENCE, IMMUNOPEROXIDASE, AND IMMUNOELECTRON MICROSCOPY

[摘要] A human monoclonal, .mu., .kappa., cold agglutinin antibody of the rare specificity Pr h (serum and proper eluates) was used in immunofluorescence and immunoperoxidase techniques and in immunoelectron microscopy (IEM) on rabbit lip specimens. Pr h antibody strongly reacted with scattered cells in epidermis, which were demonstrated to be Merkel cells (MC) by EM; no nerve fibers were stained. In IEM, a strong reaction was seen within the cytoplasm and around the granules. This is the 1st IEM staining of MC so far reported; it demonstrates the expression of a carbohydrate differentiation antigen in MC. The availability of a potent monoclonal antibody reacting with MC but not with neighboring epidermal cells in rabbit lip offers a new tool for the study of several aspects of MC biology, including antigenic properties and kinetics.