Mouse Ly-31.1 is an alloantigenic determinant of alkaline phosphatase predominantly expressed in the kidney and bone.

The mouse lymphocyte surface alloantigen, Ly-31, defined by monoclonal antibody N1.10 (IgG2b,k) and controlled by a gene locus closely linked to the Akp-2 locus on chromosome 4, was biochemically investigated. By employing a quantitative immunoassay system, it was found that the Ly-31.1-specific antibody detected an allotypic determinant of mouse alkaline phosphatase. Ly-31.1, i.e., mouse alkaline phosphatase, was expressed predominantly in kidney and bone and was also detected in placenta, lung, and testis. Concerning tumor cell lines, they varied in the amount of antigen present, with both T and B lymphoid lineages selectively possessing the antigen. In normal lymphoid tissues, lesser amounts of antigen were detected. The binding of mouse alkaline phosphatase to Ly-31.1-specific monoclonal antibodies was specific in nature. The Ly-31.1 antigen was immunoprecipitated from the lysates of surface-radiolabeled YAC-1 moloney leukemia cells, and appeared as a single band of about 78,000 under both reduced and nonreduced conditions on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Furthermore, treatment of tumor cell lines with phosphatidylinositol-specific-phospholipase C resulted in the removal of Ly-31 antigen from the cell surface. These results suggest that a gene cluster containing the Ly-31 and Akp-2 loci which control the alkaline phosphatase is formed on mouse chromosome 4. The Ly-31 antigen is the first enzyme demonstrated to be a lymphocyte surface alloantigen.