Two distinct TL-like molecular subsets defined by monoclonal antibodies on the surface of human thymocytes with different expression on leukemia lines.

Monoclonal antibodies reacting with TL-like class I antigens expressed on the surface of human thymocytes and some T leukemia lines were found to define three independent epitopic clusters, two of which could be shown to reside on serologically distinct molecular subsets by a solid-phase radioimmunoassay as well as by sequential immunoprecipitation. Both molecular subsets consist of a 49-K heavy chain associated with a beta-2 microglobulin light chain. Thymocytes expressed similar amounts of the two molecular subsets, while on T leukemia lines the amount of these two molecular subsets varied from line to line.