Comparison of intracytoplasmic A particles and intracisternal A particles

Intracytoplasmic A particles and intracisternal A particles are associated with mouse tumors of various types, and both can coexist in the cytoplasm of the same cell. The designation of both as A particles is based on the recognition that they share morphological similarities. A comparison of purified isolates of these two particles reveals that the structural protein profiles are different, but that there is some antigenic cross-reaction as demonstrated by immunodiffusion and complement fixation. This result does not appear to involve the major structural protein of intracisternal A particles, but may reflect the presence of common antigenic determinants located on minor proteins.