Skip to main content
NCBI home page
British Journal of Cancer logoLink to British Journal of Cancer
. 1987 Dec;56(6):727–733. doi: 10.1038/bjc.1987.278

HLA-DR antigens on differentiating human mammary gland epithelium and breast tumours.

J Bártek 1, M Petrek 1, B Vojtĕsek 1, J Bártková 1, J Kovarík 1, A Rejthar 1
PMCID: PMC2002386  PMID: 3435699

Abstract

The staining pattern of a monoclonal antibody directed to the monomorphic determinant of HLA-DR antigens was examined on sections of human mammary gland tissues at various stages of differentiation as well as on 50 benign and 72 malignant breast lesions. Normal resting breast epithelium lacked HLA-DR, whereas late-pregnant and lactating epithelia expressed high levels of HLA-DR antigens, followed by a decline in the post-weaning regression period. Most benign breast lesions revealed heterogeneous staining ranging from very few up to 20-25% positive epithelial Greater variability was observed among carcinomas, where a small group (approximately 7%) of cases showing 40-95% positive tumour cells was found, in addition to negative tumours and those with the minority of HLA-DR expressing carcinoma cells. The density of the leukocytic infiltrate was higher in carcinomas than in either normal breast tissue or benign lesions, the HLA-DR phenotype of the mononuclear infiltrating cells lacking any obvious correlation with the HLA-DR status of the epithelial component. Immunoblotting analyses of whole-tissue lysates separated by SDS-PAGE confirmed the immunohistochemical data and demonstrated the reactivity with only one protein band predicted for HLA-DR alpha-chain. The combination of immunohistochemistry and autoradiography on sections of human reduction mammoplasty organoids cultured in collagen gels and labelled with tritiated thymidine revealed a lack of HLA-DR expression on proliferating breast epithelial cells suggesting factors other than cell kinetics must be responsible for induction of HLA-DR antigens seen in pregnant and lactating breast epithelium and some tumours.

Full text

PDF
727

Images in this article

729Figure 1
on p.729
729Figure 2
on p.729
729Figure 3
on p.729
729Figure 4
on p.729
729Figure 5
on p.729
729Figure 6
on p.729
729Figure 7
on p.729
729Figure 8
on p.729
730Figure 9
on p.730
731Figure 10
on p.731

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Adams T. E., Bodmer J. G., Bodmer W. F. Production and characterization of monoclonal antibodies recognizing the alpha-chain subunits of human ia alloantigens. Immunology. 1983 Dec;50(4):613–624. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Bartek J., Taylor-Papadimitriou J., Miller N., Millis R. Patterns of expression of keratin 19 as detected with monoclonal antibodies in human breast tissues and tumours. Int J Cancer. 1985 Sep 15;36(3):299–306. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Benacerraf B. Significance and biological function of class II MHC molecules. Rous-Whipple Award lecture 1985. Am J Pathol. 1985 Sep;120(3):334–343. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Bernard D. J., Maurizis J. C., Chassagne J., Chollet P., Plagne R. Effect of prolactin on class II HLA antigen expression by MCF7 cell line. Anticancer Res. 1986 Jan-Feb;6(1):79–83. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Bernard D., Maurizis J. C., Rusé F., Chassagne J., Chollet P., Sauvezie B., de Latour M., Plagne R. Presence of HLA-D/DR antigens on the membrane of breast tumour cells. Clin Exp Immunol. 1984 Apr;56(1):215–221. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Bhan A. K., DesMarais C. L. Immunohistologic characterization of major histocompatibility antigens and inflammatory cellular infiltrate in human breast cancer. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1983 Sep;71(3):507–516. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Burchell J., Durbin H., Taylor-Papadimitriou J. Complexity of expression of antigenic determinants, recognized by monoclonal antibodies HMFG-1 and HMFG-2, in normal and malignant human mammary epithelial cells. J Immunol. 1983 Jul;131(1):508–513. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Bártek J., Viklický V., Franek F., Angelisová P., Dráber P., Jarosíková T., Nemec M., Verlová H. Monoclonal antibodies against transferrin. Precipitating mixtures and lack of inter-species cross-reactivity. Immunol Lett. 1982 May;4(5):231–235. doi: 10.1016/0165-2478(82)90043-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Dunnebacke T. H., Schuster F. L. Morphological response of cultured cells to Naegleria amoeba cytopathogenic material. J Cell Sci. 1985 Apr;75:1–16. doi: 10.1242/jcs.75.1.1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Emerman J. T., Pitelka D. R. Maintenance and induction of morphological differentiation in dissociated mammary epithelium on floating collagen membranes. In Vitro. 1977 May;13(5):316–328. doi: 10.1007/BF02616178. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Epenetos A. A., Bobrow L. G., Adams T. E., Collins C. M., Isaacson P. G., Bodmer W. F. A monoclonal antibody that detects HLA-D region antigen in routinely fixed, wax embedded sections of normal and neoplastic lymphoid tissues. J Clin Pathol. 1985 Jan;38(1):12–17. doi: 10.1136/jcp.38.1.12. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Ferguson A., Moore M., Fox H. Expression of MHC products and leucocyte differentiation antigens in gynaecological neoplasms: an immunohistological analysis of the tumour cells and infiltrating leucocytes. Br J Cancer. 1985 Oct;52(4):551–563. doi: 10.1038/bjc.1985.227. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Forsum U., Claesson K., Hjelm E., Karlsson-Parra A., Klareskog L., Scheynius A., Tjernlund U. Class II transplantation antigens: distribution in tissues and involvement in disease. Scand J Immunol. 1985 May;21(5):389–396. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-3083.1985.tb01823.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Gastl G., Marth C., Leiter E., Gattringer C., Mayer I., Daxenbichler G., Flener R., Huber C. Effects of human recombinant alpha 2 arg-interferon and gamma-interferon on human breast cancer cell lines: dissociation of antiproliferative activity and induction of HLA-DR antigen expression. Cancer Res. 1985 Jul;45(7):2957–2961. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Göttlinger H. G., Rieber P., Gokel J. M., Lohe K. J., Riethmüller G. Infiltrating mononuclear cells in human breast carcinoma: predominance of T4+ monocytic cells in the tumor stroma. Int J Cancer. 1985 Feb 15;35(2):199–205. doi: 10.1002/ijc.2910350210. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Hurlimann J., Saraga P. Mononuclear cells infiltrating human mammary carcinomas: immunohistochemical analysis with monoclonal antibodies. Int J Cancer. 1985 Jun 15;35(6):753–762. doi: 10.1002/ijc.2910350610. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Kaufman J. F., Auffray C., Korman A. J., Shackelford D. A., Strominger J. The class II molecules of the human and murine major histocompatibility complex. Cell. 1984 Jan;36(1):1–13. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(84)90068-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Klareskog L., Forsum U., Peterson P. A. Hormonal regulation of the expression of Ia antigens on mammary gland epithelium. Eur J Immunol. 1980 Dec;10(12):958–963. doi: 10.1002/eji.1830101212. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Londei M., Lamb J. R., Bottazzo G. F., Feldmann M. Epithelial cells expressing aberrant MHC class II determinants can present antigen to cloned human T cells. Nature. 1984 Dec 13;312(5995):639–641. doi: 10.1038/312639a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Natali P. G., Giacomini P., Bigotti A., Imai K., Nicotra M. R., Ng A. K., Ferrone S. Heterogeneity in the expression of HLA and tumor-associated antigens by surgically removed and cultured breast carcinoma cells. Cancer Res. 1983 Feb;43(2):660–668. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Newman R. A., Ormerod M. G., Greaves M. F. The presence of HLA-DR antigens on lactating human breast epithelium and milk fat globule membranes. Clin Exp Immunol. 1980 Sep;41(3):478–486. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Radka S. F., Charron D. J., Brodsky F. M. Class II molecules of the major histocompatibility complex considered as differentiation markers. Hum Immunol. 1986 Aug;16(4):390–400. doi: 10.1016/0198-8859(86)90065-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Stampfer M., Hallowes R. C., Hackett A. J. Growth of normal human mammary cells in culture. In Vitro. 1980 May;16(5):415–425. doi: 10.1007/BF02618365. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Tabibzadeh S. S., Bettica A., Gerber M. A. Variable expression of Ia antigens in human endometrium and in chronic endometritis. Am J Clin Pathol. 1986 Aug;86(2):153–160. doi: 10.1093/ajcp/86.2.153. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Unanue E. R., Allen P. M. Comment on the finding of Ia expression in nonlymphoid cells. Lab Invest. 1986 Aug;55(2):123–125. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Whitwell H. L., Hughes H. P., Moore M., Ahmed A. Expression of major histocompatibility antigens and leucocyte infiltration in benign and malignant human breast disease. Br J Cancer. 1984 Feb;49(2):161–172. doi: 10.1038/bjc.1984.28. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from British Journal of Cancer are provided here courtesy of Cancer Research UK

RESOURCES