Monoclonal antibodies to novel erythroid differentiation antigens reveal specific effects of oncogenes on the leukaemic cell phenotype.

A panel of new monoclonal antibodies to antigens on the surface of chick erythroid progenitor cells is described. These are characterised with respect to their binding to different classes of normal haemopoietic cells of both the erythroid and myeloid lineages. Using these antibodies, we have examined the phenotype of avian leukaemic cells transformed by retroviruses carrying defined oncogenes. Our data show that these cells, although similar to the normal haematopoietic precursor from which they are derived, aberrantly express certain markers in an oncogene specific manner.