Immunochemical characterization of human TL-like (T48) and Ly 1-like (T72) glycoproteins using two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis.

Xenoantisera, designated AT48 and AT72, were developed by immunizing rabbits with human thymus cell membrane and guinea-pigs with a T-cell glycoprotein purified from leukaemic T-cell membrane. Whereas AT48, after appropriate absorption, reacted exclusively with the majority of thymocytes (mainly cortical thymocytes) among normal lymphoid populations, AT72 reacted with virtually all of the thymus and T cells but not with B cells. Thymocytes, which were strongly reactive with AT72, existed in the thymic medulla, but cortical cells were also very weakly reactive with AT72. When cultured T-cell lines, all of which were derived from patients with T-cell-type acute lymphatic leukaemias, were tested for their reactivities with AT48 and AT72 by immunofluorescence, we found that AT48 stained certain T-cell lines, whereas AT72 stained all of the T-cell lines tested so far. Immunochemical data showed that AT48 precipitated a 48K molecular weight (mol. wt) glycoprotein from 125I-labelled thymus cell surface glycoproteins, which appeared to be very weakly associated with a 12K mol. wt component. These 48K and 12K mol. wt components precipitated by AT48 showed almost identical isoelectric points (pI) to those of HLA heavy chain and beta 2-microglobulin respectively. AT72, on the other hand, precipitated a 72K mol. wt glycoprotein from thymus and T cells as well as from leukaemic T cells. A less prominent 65K mol. wt glycoprotein was also precipitated by AT72 from thymus and T cells but not from leukaemic T cells. These two components showed almost identical pI ranging approximately from 4 to 7, and this marked charge heterogeneity observed was reduced by neuraminidase treatment, suggesting that it reflects the heterogeneity in sialylation of this molecular species. We concluded from these data that AT48 and AT72 used in this work could detect human homologues of mouse TL and Ly 1 antigens respectively.