Chromosomal location of the Ly-49 (A1, YE1/48) multigene family. Genetic association with the NK 1.1 antigen.

The Ly-49 (A1, YE1/48) Ag is a disulfide-linked dimer with 44-kDa subunits, and is expressed on the cell surface of rare T cell tumors of C57BL/6 origin. Although this Ag is undetectable by flow microfluorimetry analysis, normal cells have been shown to express the A1 Ag by immunoprecipitation experiments performed on surface radioiodinated spleen and thymus cells. We (J. Immunol. 143:1379, 1989) and others (J. Immunol. 142:1727, 1989) have recently isolated cDNA encoding the Ly-49 Ag. Southern blots with an Ly-49 cDNA probe revealed multiple bands, consistent with cross-hybridization to other members of a multigene family, and significant RFLP between the C57BL/6 and BALB/c strains. When the RFLP patterns displayed by other common laboratory strains as well as informative recombinant inbred strains were examined, the Ly-49 gene family displayed five RFLP patterns and the entire family was found to reside on a contiguous stretch of the distal portion of mouse chromosome 6, the same region to which the NK1.1 Ag has been mapped. Although tissue distribution studies and transfection analysis ruled out the possibility that Ly-49 was identical to NK1.1 Ag, approximately 20% of NK1.1 cells isolated from normal spleen coexpressed Ly-49 and all Ly-49+ cells were CD3-. Although spleen cells cultured in high doses of rIL-2 demonstrated similar coexpression of NK1.1 and Ly-49, approximately 10% of CD3+ cells coexpressed Ly-49. The chromosomal mapping data and the expression of the Ly-49 and NK1.1 Ag suggest that the NK1.1 Ag may be a member of the Ly-49 multigene family.