Studies in immunochemistry. 16. The isolation of blood-group active mucoids from ovarian cyst fluids

Abstract

Twelve preparations of mucoid material were isolated from ovarian cyst fluids and found to behave as single molecular species on electrophoretic and ultra-centrifugal analysis at pH 8. Serologically, 4 were group A1, 5 H1 and 1 each of A2, B and A1B blood-group substances. There was some correlation between serological specificity and chemical composition. The galactose: hexosamine ratio is about 0.6 for A, 1.2 for H and 1.5 for B. The ratio fucose: hexosamine is lower for group A preparations than for H. The variation in chemical composition encountered among the H substances is greater than with A substances. Evidence suggests that the blood-group genes do not control the formation of a single product but of a multiplicity of similar but not identical materials, each of which possesses the same dominant specificity within the ABO system.