Title: Forssman antigen
Long Title: IUPAC Gold Book - Forssman antigen
DOI: 10.1351/goldbook.13158
Status: current

Definition
Glycolipid heterophile antigen (globopentosylceramide) expressed on cell surfaces during embryonic and adult life in rodents and other mammals, and found in many pathogens, but probably not in humans.

Notes
1) Anti-Forssman antibodies directed against the terminal sugar moiety are commonly found in plasma and may be involved in Guillain–Barré syndrome (GBS).
2) Anti-Forssman antibodies reportedly disrupt tight junction formation, apical-basal polarization, and cell adhesion.

Related Term
- heterophile antigen: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/13210

Source
- PAC, 2012, 84, 1113. 'IUPAC glossary of terms used in immunotoxicology (IUPAC Recommendations 2012)' on page 1167 (https://doi.org/10.1351/PAC-REC-11-06-03)

Other Outputs
- html: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/13158/html
- json: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/13158/json
- xml: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/13158/xml

Citation: Citation: 'Forssman antigen' in IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 5th ed. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry; 2025. Online version 5.0.0, 2025. 10.1351/goldbook.13158
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Accessed: 2026-07-21T23:51:51+00:00