Proliferation-related nucleolar antigens P145 and P120 associated with separate nucleolar elements and differences in tissue distribution.

Nucleolar antigens p145 and p120 are associated with proliferating cells (Freeman, J.W.; McRorie, D.K.; Busch, R.K.; Gyorkey, P.; Gyorkey, F.; Ross, B.E.; Spohn, W.H.; Busch, H. Cancer Res. 46:3593; 1986 and Freeman, J.W.; Busch, R.K.; Gyorkey, P.; Gyorkey, F.; Ross, B.E.; Busch, H. Cancer Res. 48:1244; 1988) and are not detectable in normal resting cells. Recent immunoelectron microscopic studies (Ochs, R.L.; Reilly, M.T.; Freeman, J.W.; Busch, H. Cancer Res. 48:6523; 1988) suggest that the two antigens have overlapping nucleolar localizations. In this study the nucleolus was physicochemically and biochemically studied to determine whether p145 and p120 were associated with a common nucleolar component. Antigen p145 was associated with 40-80 S ribonucleoprotein particles (RNPs), and the p145 antigen was not detected in HeLa cells following in situ RNAse digestion. P120 was found in a 40-80 S, RNAse resistant complex. Sequential extraction of HeLa nucleoli showed that most of antigen p145 was extractable in 10 mM Tris with 0.2% deoxycholate, whereas p120 was found in a nucleolar residue fraction requiring DNAse and high salt treatment for optimal extraction. Neither antigen p145 nor p120 was detectable in normal resting tissues. Antigen p145 was detected in all proliferating tissues examined, including a variety of malignant tumors (ten of ten), benign tissues including adenomas and hyperplasias (eight of eight), and in normal proliferating cells such as colonic epithelium and spermatogonia of the testes. Antigen p120 was not detected in all tumors, being absent in three of seven lymphomas and in one melanoma examined.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)