PURIFICATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF A 90-KDA PROTEIN RELEASED FROM HUMAN TUMORS AND TUMOR-CELL LINES

A novel tumor-associated protein, termed 90K, and recognized by mAb SP-2 was purified from serum of breast cancer patients, ovarian cancer ascitic fluid and conditioned medium of human breast cancer cells. In these three sources, native 90K is present as a high molecular weight complex that was dissociated by SDS-PAGE into a major band of approximately 90,000 Da. On the basis of electrophoretic mobility, buoyant density value, amino acid composition, and immunoreactivity, the 90K from the different sources appeared to be identical. NH2-terminal amino acid sequence revealed no homology to known protein.