Monoclonal anti-K14 and anti-K2

Mouse hybridoma clones have produced monoclonal antibodies directed against the K:14 and K:2 high-incidence antigens of the Kell blood group system. Two examples of anti-K14 were isolated, each arising from a separate fusion procedure. All three monoclonal antibodies are of the immunoglobulin class IgG1. Serological activity is consistent with that seen with human antibodies to high-incidence Kell system antigens, and their epitopes are destroyed, as usual, by 2-aminoethylisothiuronium bromide treatment. Specificity was further confirmed by adsorption and elution studies. Tests against nonhuman primate red cells demonstrated the expression of K:14 only by the great apes, whereas K:2 was present on all red cells tested. These findings emphasize the usefulness of monoclonal antibodies to elucidate the evolutionary patterns of blood group variants.