CELL-LINES WITH SPONTANEOUS SECRETION OF PREGNANCY-ASSOCIATED ALPHA-2-GLOBULIN

Pregnancy‐associated α2‐globulin (PA α2G) was quantitated by radioimmunoassay in culture media from 34 exponentially growing human cell lines. Only 8/34 cell lines produced PA α2G. The highest secretion was found in cell lines of histiocytic lymphoma origin while it was low in some carcinoma‐derived lines. The results may support an assumption that PAα2G is a normal cell product of B‐lymphoid, monocytic and epithelial cells but may also simply indicate that ectopic PAα2G production is especially common in tumors derived from such cells. The availability of PAα2G‐producing cell lines should facilitate studies of the immunoregulatory role of this protein. Copyright © 1979 Wiley‐Liss, Inc., A Wiley Company