Rat T lymphocyte antigens comparable with mouse Lyt-1 and Lyt-2,3 antigenic systems: characterization by monoclonal antibodies.

Rat T lymphocyte antigens were defined by using two distinct monoclonal antibodies (R1-3B3 and R1-10B5). R1-3B3 antibody, when tested for its reactivity with rat lymphoid cells by immunofluorescence, stained almost all of thymus and T cells but not the majority of B cells and bone marrow cells. The antigen defined by R1-3B3 existed more abundantly on medullary thymocytes and peripheral T cells than on cortical thymocytes. Immunochemical data showed that R1-3B3 antibody recognized a single glycoprotein with a m.w. of 67,000, showing marked electric charge heterogeneity with isoelectric points ranging from 5.4 to 7.3. R1-10B5 antibody, on the other hand, had more restricted reactivity with rat T cells and labeled approximately 85% of thymus cells and 30% of the peripheral T cells but neither B cells nor bone marrow cells. These T cells positive for R1-10B5 appeared to be negative for W3/25 antigen, which has been shown to be the marker for the rat T cell subset associated with helper function. R1-10B5 antibody detected a basic glycoprotein complex consisting of sulfhydryl-linked subunits with 30,000 and 34,000 m.w. Although the antigen defined by R1-3B3 was resistant to trypsin digestion, the one detected by R1-10B5 was much more sensitive to trypsin cleavage. All of these data obtained with either R1-3B3 or R1-10B5 are quite comparable to those reported for mouse Lyt-1 or Lyt-2,3 antigens, and thus suggest that the antigens defined by R1-3B3 and R1-10B5 antibodies represent rat homologues of Lyt-1 and Lyt-2,3 antigens in the murine system, respectively.