T lymphocyte surface antigens in primates.

We examined the binding of peripheral blood mononuclear cells from various primate species to a panel of monoclonal antibodies with specificity for human T lymphocytes. A remarkable structural conservation of the erythrocyte rosette receptor on T cells between such phylogenetically distant primates as lemurs and man was found. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that the degree of sharing of other T cell-specific surface determinants between man and other primates reflects the phylogenetic distance between them. Moreover, these studies suggest the potential use of monoclonal antibodies for further structural and functional elucidation of T lymphocyte-specific surface structures.