Biochemical analysis of the lymphocyte cell surface--from alloantisera to the role of membrane proteins.

The rat has been invaluable for many aspects of the molecular analysis of the lymphocyte cell surface. One advantage of the rat over mice is the ability to obtain cells in large numbers for biochemical analysis together with the availability of many disease models. This review outlines some of the key findings in this laboratory over the last 25 years together with the technological advances that may be of relevance in this new post-genomic era where the goal is to understand the functions of the proteins coded by the multitude of genes now identified.