Characterization of a murine monoclonal antibody specific for an allotypic determinant on T cell antigen receptor.

Repeated immunization of normal C57L/J (H-2b) mice with peripheral T cells from BALB.B (H-2b) mice results in the production of antibodies which react with the T cell receptor. A monoclonal antibody-producing hybridoma, F23.1, was isolated from immunized C57L/J mice showing this property. This monoclonal antibody recognizes approximately 25% of peripheral T cells in BALB mice. It stains approximately the same fraction of T cells and precipitates the same heterodimer as the rat monoclonal antibody described previously that was made against isolated receptor material. The allotypic determinant recognized by this monoclonal antibody is present in most common laboratory strains (BALB, C57BL, CBA, A, DBA, C3H) and is absent in C57L, C57BR, and SJL mice. Sorting peripheral T cells from BALB.B or (SJL X BALB/c)F1 mice for the F23.1+ and F23.1- subsets revealed that both populations contain approximately the same CTL precursor frequency for alloantigen. Thus, the T cell receptor allotype defined by F23.1 is present on CTL. Furthermore, cytotoxicity mediated by an F23.1+ CTL line could be blocked specifically by the F23.1 monoclonal antibody. Under appropriate conditions, the monoclonal antibody F23.1 bound to Sepharose 4B beads can induce resting peripheral T lymphocytes of allotype-positive strains to proliferate.