Detection of blood group differences in human corneal epithelium using a monoclonal antibody and lectins
H. Watanabe and I. K. Gipson
Cornea Unit, Schepens Eye Research Institute, Boston, Mass.
OBJECTIVE: To determine if blood group variation in corneal epithelial
glycoconjugates can be detected with the use of a monoclonal antibody and
sugar-specific lectins. METHODS: Monoclonal antibodies were developed to
isolated corneal epithelial cells using conventional hybridoma techniques.
Hybridoma screening and studies of antibody binding to cryostat sections of
human corneas of blood groups A, B, and O were performed with
immunofluorescence microscopy. Correlation of lectin binding to antibody
and blood group binding was done immunohistochemically with lectins
conjugated to fluorochromes. RESULTS: Monoclonal antibody designated
1B3.29.36 binds to corneal epithelium of humans of blood group A only. The
epitope of the antibody appears to be, in part, N-acetylgalactosamine. The
lectins Dolichos biflorus agglutinin (DBA), Griffonia simplicifolia
lectin-I isolectin-B4 (GSL-IB4), and Ulex europeus agglutinin-I (UEA-I)
bind to epithelium of subjects with blood groups A, B, and O, respectively,
and soybean agglutinin binds to all three groups. CONCLUSION: Variations in
corneal epithelium of subjects with different blood groups can be detected
with the use of a monoclonal antibody and the lectins DBA, GSL-IB4, and
UEA-I. Previous reports of lectin binding to ocular surface epithelium
should be reevaluated since they did not take into account
blood-group-specific binding.
