T11: a new protein marker on activated murine T lymphocytes

Murine lymphocytes were activated in vitro in mixed lymphocyte cultures (MLC) or by the addition of the mitogens concanavalin A (Con A), phytohemagglutinin (PHA), or E. coli lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Activated lymphocytes were internally labeled with 35S-methionine and then disrupted by hypotonic lysis. A plasma membrane-enriched fraction was isolated from each cell population, and the 35S-labeled proteins in this fraction were examined by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). An intensely labeled band, the position of which indicated an apparent m.w. of 11,000, was observed when plasma membrane-enriched fractions from MLC- and Con A-activated cells were subjected to SDS-PAGE. In contrast, plasma membrane-enriched fractions from normal spleen cells, LPS-activated cells, PHA-activated cells, and EL4, RDM4, and P815 tumor cells possessed little or none of this protein, which we have designated T11. T11 was not found in the soluble cytoplasmic protein from MLC-activated cells. Hence the presence of T11 in the plasma membrane-enriched fraction from these cells cannot be attributed to contamination by cytoplasmic protein. Removal of T cells from populations of MLC-activated cells by treatment with monoclonal anti-Thy 1 and complement removed T11. These results suggest that T11 may represent a new protein marker on a subclass of activated T lymphocytes.