Gene for the human T cell differentiation antigen Leu-2/T8 is closely linked to the kappa light chain locus on chromosome 2.

We have mapped the gene encoding the T cell differentiation antigen Leu-2/T8 to human chromosome 2 by hybridization of a Leu-2/T8 complementary DNA clone to DNA from a panel of mouse-human cell hybrids. In situ hybridization further localizes the gene to the 2p1 region in close proximity to the Ig kappa light chain gene. The Leu-2/T8 gene translocates with C kappa to chromosome 8 in a Burkitt lymphoma line carrying a t(2;8) translocation. These data support the hypothesis that Leu-2/T8 is the human homologue of the mouse Lyt-2,3 antigen.