CA19-9 as a therapeutic target in pancreatitis

摘要

The glycan carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9) is one of the most important and widely used biomarkers for pancreatic cancer. In 1979, Koprowski first described CA 19-9 as a tumor antigen recognized by the monoclonal antibody NS19-9 ( ). NS19-9 was developed by hybridoma technology using the human colorectal cancer cell line SW1116 as an immunizing antigen. The antigen recognized by NS19-9 is a type of Lewis blood group on the cell membrane surface, and is a sialyl Lewis A antigen (sLe ) in which a sialic acid is added to the Lewis A sugar chain (Le ). During the generation of sLe , an enzyme called 1,4-fucosyl transferase is required for adding fucose to its precursor, sialyl Le . One of the most important limitations of CA19-9 as a tumor marker is that 5–10% of population lacks this enzyme and as a result cannot produce CA19-9.