Mouse isoantigens: separation of soluble TL (thymus-leukemia) antigen from soluble H-2 histocompatibility antigen by column chromatography.

Mouse H-2 histocompatibility antigen has been extracted, solubilized, and partly purified from the cells of an A strain spontaneous leukemia carrying TL (thymus-leukemia) antigens. H-2 and TL. 1, 2, 3 activities were measured by inhibition of the cytotoxic effect of the corresponding isoantibodies. TL activity was associated with the H-2 active fraction obtained by solubilization and fractionation by gel filtration. TL specificity was largely separated from H-2 antigen by subsequent chromatography on DEAE Sephadex as an adjacent component in a series of fractions. The soluble H-2 antigen prepared from the leukemia cells was tested for most of the specificities determined by H-2(a) with no exceptional results. TL. 1, 2, 3 activities, measured as each component separately, were located in approximately the same position; there is no clear indication yet whether the three TL specificities are separable from one another. It appears that in addition to the close genetic linkage between the H-2 and TL loci, and their reciprocal interaction in producing H-2 and TL antigens, these antigens exhibit some similarity at the chemical level.