Selective expression of asialo GM1 on maturational subsets of lymphocytes in normal and athymic mice.

In an attempt to clarify the restriction of asialo GM1 expression, the presence of asialo GM1 positive cells in the lymphoid tissues of normal and athymic mice was examined using affinity-purified monospecific anti-asialo GM1 antibodies and a FACS-II. The results presented herein demonstrate that a significant frequency of asialo GM1-positive cells can be detected in the primary lymphoid tissues (bone marrow and thymus) as well as in the secondary lymphoid tissues (spleen and lymph nodes). The observed expression of asialo GM1 within the T-cell lineage is, in general, consistent with the previously proposed restriction of asialo GM1 expression to mature T cells. However, the demonstration that a significant frequency of asialo GM1-positive cells is detectable in bone marrow of normal mice, as well as in spleen and bone marrow of athymic mice, establishes that a substantial number of lymphocytes not committed to the T-cell lineage and/or pre-T cells also express the asialo Gm1 antigen. These results indicate that the asialo GM1 marker may be an important tool for following T differentiation from the multipotential stem cell to the functionally mature T cell.