Expression of the photoreceptor-specific S-antigen in human retinoblastoma

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Abstract
This work presents an immunofluorescent study of the distribution of the photoreceptor-specific S-antigen in human retinoblastoma, using mouse monoclonal antibodies. Three cases of differentiated retinoblastoma displayed S-antigen immunoreactivity with various patterns of labeling which depended on the degree of differentiation of the area studied. Flexner-Wintersteiner rosettes and fleurettes were labeled only with monoclonal antibody S2D2, whereas undifferentiated areas were labeled with four different anti-S-antigen monoclonal antibodies, including S2D2. On the other hand, the three undifferentiated retinoblastomas did not show any labeling with these antibodies. The presence of S-antigen in differentiated retinoblastoma confirms that the origin of this tumor is from the photoreceptors, but the question remains unanswered for undifferentiated retinoblastoma for which another origin—glial or primitive neuroectodermal cells—may be proposed. Cancer 57:1497y1500, 1986.