The Journal of Immunology, Vol 138, Issue 1 104-108, Copyright © 1987 by American Association of Immunologists
Human monoclonal anti-T cell antibody from a patient with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis
SD Alpert, PJ Turek, SK Foung and EG Engleman
Antibody JRAI is a human monoclonal IgM antibody derived from a patient
with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis that is cytotoxic to a subpopulation of
normal T lymphocytes. JRAI recognizes approximately 80% of normal
peripheral blood T cells, 90% of CD4+ cells, and 75% of CD8+ cells, as
determined by complement-mediated cytotoxicity. Within the CD8+ population,
JRAI preferentially spares OKM1+ and Leu-11+ cells. These CD8+ cells retain
suppressor-effector potential and show enriched natural killer cell
activity. Within the CD4+ population, JRAI preferentially kills cells
within the Leu-8+ subset, which contains suppressor-inducer cells, and
spares the Leu-8- subset, which contains the helpers for immunoglobulin
synthesis. JRAI appears to recognize a previously undefined human
lymphocyte surface molecule expressed differentially on phenotypically and
functionally distinct subsets of human T cells.
