Resumen de The Thomsen-Friedenreich (TF) antigen: a critical review on the structural, biosynthetic and histochemical aspects of a pancarcinoma-associated antigen
Within the famil y of blood-group re lated carbo hydr a te a nti ge ns th e Th o mse n-Fri ed e nre ic h (TF) antigen (or T antigen) is an outstanding member b y a ttrac tin g sc ie ntifi c int e rest fo r mo re th a n 65 years and by hav ing retained its signifi cance as object of curre nt bi ome di ca l resea rc h ; in pa rticul a r, as a pancarc inoma-assoc iated a nti gen . In accordance with its co nsta nt o r eve n g row in g a ttrac ti o n s ci e ntists have searched for specific reagents which would allow th e un a mbi g uo us a nd se nsiti ve d e tec ti o n of th e Th omse n-Fri e de nre ic h a nti ge n o n ce lls o r tiss ues.
While at the beg inning, immuno histoc hemical work o n TF a nti ge n ex pressio n was restri c te d b y th e limited spec ific it y of pl ant lec tin s (peanut lec tin ) a sig ni fica nt prog ress has bee n p ossibl e sin ce th e introduction of the hybridoma technique. The respective monoclonal antibodies display distinct fine specificities and cellular staining patterns in immunohistochemistry and have contributed to controversial discussions on the organ-charac teristic and tumor-associated expression of the TF a nti ge n in some orga ns. It is the a im o f this survey to summarize in the context of its structural and biosynthetic aspects the current knowledge on the tissue ex pression of the TF antigen as based on the use of peanut agg lutinin and mo noc lona l antibodi es and to disc uss the findin gs with regard to the ir biomedi ca l re levance, in particular, with emphasis on the ir value in tumor di ag nosis.
