Surface Antigen Profiling of Surgical Melanoma Specimens.

An antibody microarray (DotScan) has been developed for profiling clinical melanoma specimens. Immobilized antibodies capture live cells expressing corresponding antigens to produce a dot pattern that represents the surface profile or immunophenotype. The unique signatures obtained may correlate with disease subtype, tumor progression, and clinical outcome. Here we describe the rapid analysis of surgically resected metastatic melanoma. Leukocytes are separated from tumor cells using CD45 antibody-conjugated magnetic beads and separated cell populations are profiled on the microarray. This antibody microarray may be extended to include additional antibodies for cell surface biomarkers and therapeutic antibodies.