Distribution of GICA in normal gastrointestinal and endocervical mucosae and in mucinous ovarian cysts using antibody NS 19-9.

Through the immunoperoxidase method using antibody 19-9, we demonstrated the presence of gastrointestinal cancer-associated antigen (GICA) in normal gastrointestinal and endocervical mucosae and in benign mucinous ovarian cysts of pure endocervical type in Le(a+b-) and Le(a-b+) patients exclusively. However, GICA was more quantitatively expressed in Le(a+b-) than in Le(a-b+) patients. GICA was always encountered in the ducts of esophageal glands, Wirsung's ducts, goblet cells of villosities near the ileo-colonic junction, and the mucus columnar cells of the endocervical mucosae or ovarian mucinous tumor epithelium. In other areas of the gastrointestinal tract, GICA was sometimes found in the mucus cells of esophageal glands, near the neck cells of gastric mucosae, in goblet cells of the upper part of the small intestinal villosities, and in colonic Lieberkühn glands, especially in the cell maturation compartment. GICA therefore appears to be a normal component of gastrointestinal and endocervical mucosae.