Detection of the leukocyte group-5 antigens on normal and leukemic lymphocytes with the antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity assay.

We have found that the antibody-dependent call-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) assay is capable of detecting the alleles of the group-5 antigenic system on peripheral blood lymphocytes. This finding should facilitate additional study of this system, as illustrated by the detection of group-5 antigens on leukemic cells, indicating that they are not lost from the cell surface upon malignant transformation.