A Novel Monoclonal Antibody Against Alpha-Methylacyl-CoA Racemase Applicable for Paraffin-Embedded Tissues and Diagnostics of Prostate Cancer.

AMACR (alpha-methylacyl-CoA racemase) has been recently described as a prostate cancer-specific gene that encodes a protein involved in the beta-oxidation of branched chain fatty acids. Expression of AMACR protein is found in prostatic adenocarcinoma, but not in benign prostatic tissue. Thus, monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) for AMACR detection are an important tool for the diagnosis of AMACR-positive cancers. However, only a few mAbs, especially those applicable for immunohistochemistry (IHC), have been established to date. In this study, we describe the generation of a new hybridoma clone G8 producing anti-AMACR antibodies. G8 mAb specifically binds human AMACR and was successfully used in immunoblotting and immunofluorescence on paraformaldehyde-fixed cells and in IHC of paraffin-embedded tumor specimens. These results indicate that this new anti-AMACR mAb G8 would be useful in the diagnosis of AMACR-related cancers and would be a strong tool in both basic and clinical research on AMACR.