Study of secretor status and FUT2 gene in patients with urogenital tumours

ENSINCK A; LEBENSOHN N; RACCA L; GARCÍA BORRÁS S; COTORRUELO C; BIONDI C

Mar del Plata

Congreso; LIX Reunión Científica Anual de la Sociedad Argentina de Investigación Clínica. LXII Reunión Anual de la Sociedad Argentina de Inmunología; 2014

Sociedad Argentina de Inmunología

Histo-blood group ABH antigens are the major allogeneic antigens in humans and they are widely distributed in human tissues. Their presence not only is limited in blood cells but also is found in various epithelial cells and in secretions. Since most human cancers originate from epithelial cells, changes in blood group antigens are an important topic in human tumor immunology. The aim of this work was to investigate the polymorphsm of FUT2 gene and secretor status using biochemical and molecular methods in patients with urogenital tumors. In total 118 subjects were examined, 48 individuals who had prostate and bladder tumors and 70 which showed no demonstrable pathology constituting the control group. Saline erythrocyte suspensions were used for serological studies. In order to establish the secretor status we analyzed their saliva by the agglutination inhibition technique using monoclonal antibodies anti-A, anti-B and lectin ulex europeaus. We analyzed the FUT 2 polymorphism by ASO-PCR (allele specific oligonucleotid) with specific primers for G428 allele and the wild type allele of FUT2 gene. 77.1% (n=54) of the healthy individuals studied possessed the Se gene (FUT2) that governs the secretion of water-soluble ABH antigens into saliva. These secreted antigens can be demonstrated in saliva by agglutination inhibition tests with ABH antisera and molecular biology through analysis of the FUT2 gene. 58.3% (n=28) of the patients with urogenital cancerous were non-secretors, in contrast with the healthy population (22.8%; n=16). We observed association between the secretor status and these urogenital cancer (p