The Qa-1 alloantigens. I. Identification and molecular weight characterization of glycoproteins controlled by the Qa-1a and Qa-1b alleles.

Splenocytes from the Qa-Tla congenic strain pairs, A and A-Tlab or B6 and B6-Tlaa, were biosynthetically labeled with 3H-amino acids or cell surface labeled with 125I. Membrane proteins were solubilized with detergent and chromatographed on lentil lectin-Sepharose, and the resulting adherent pools were immunoprecipitated with antisera specific for determinants controlled by the Qa-1a and Qa-1b alleles, Qa-1.1 and Qa-1.2, respectively. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis of immunoprecipitates from biosynthetically labeled preparations indicated that both the Qa-1.1 and Qa-1.2 antigens were glycoproteins with a m.w. of approximately 46,000. Qa-1.2 isolated from radioiodinated spleen cells similarly had a m.w. of 46,000. Analysis of anti-Qa-1.1 precipitates from 125I-labeled Qa-1a lysates demonstrated in addition to the 46,000 m.w. component, an electrophoretically heterogeneous protein or series of proteins in the m.w. range of 55,000 to 75,000. The specificity of these reactivities was shown by both antiserum and genetic control immunoprecipitations. These findings indicate that the Qa-1.1 and Qa-1.2 antigens are cell surface glycoproteins that are distinct from the TL antigens, and suggest a further complexity at the Qa-1--Tla locus.