Defect of OKT4 antigen epitopes on normal human lymphocytes found in Japan.

Membrane surface antigens on peripheral blood lymphocytes were analyzed by a laser flow cytometry system using monoclonal antibodies. Four normal subjects among 1,998 normal and diseased groups were found whose lymphocytes were not detected by OKT4 monoclonal antibody, while Leu3a and KOLT-1, which were also specific for helper/inducer T-lymphocytes as OKT4, were present in these subjects. The cases with the defect of the OKT4 antigen suggest that there is some modification of the antigen, lack of epitopes, or genetic polymorphism in the appearance of the OKT4+ cell surface antigen on normal human lymphocyte.