Expression of human myeloid-associated surface antigens in human-mouse myeloid cell hybrids

Hybrid cell lines were obtained after fusion of mouse myeloid cells (WEHI-TG) with leukocytes from two patients with chronic myeloid leukemia. A third fusion was carried out with leukocytes from a patient with acute lymphocytic leukemia. All three patients carried the Philadelphia chromosome (Ph1) in the leukemia cell population. Cytochemical analysis confirmed the myelo-monocytic nature of the hybrid cell lines. The presence of Ph1 translocation products could be established in most hybrids derived from the two chronic myeloid leukemic patients, which confirms that indeed human myeloid cells were fused. Several of these hybrid lines showed reactivity with monoclonal antibodies known to be specific for human myeloid cells, whereas interlineage Chinese hamster fibroblast-human chronic myeloid leukemia hybrids failed to react with these antibodies. Five independently obtained monoclonal antibodies--MI/NI, UJ-308, VIM-D5, FMC-10, and B4.3--showed very similar reactivity patterns when tested on the hybrid clones. This result substantiates the evidence obtained from other studies, that these five antibodies are directed against the same myeloid-associated antigen. The gene(s) for expression of the latter antigen could be assigned to human chromosome 11.