A new antigen common to the rat nervous and immune systems: I. Detection with a hybridoma

An antibody secreting cell line has been obtained using the technology developed by Milstein, Kohler, and colleagues by fusion between X63 myeloma cells and spleen cells from a mouse previously immunized with PC12 cultured rat pheochromocytoma cells. This antibody bound to particulate protein from adult rat brain and to a lesser extent spinal cord and retina but not adrenal. Lower levels of binding were observed also with spleen, bone marrow, and peritoneal exudate cells. Cells or particulate protein from seven nonneural, nonimmune tissues showed essentially no specific binding. Analysis of adherent and nonadherent peritoneal exudate cells indicated specific antibody binding to both populations. The specific antibody bound was greater in the on-adherent fraction. The antigen has been provisionally named G5 after the antibody secreting clone. Like the Thy 1 antigen of rodents, it is expressed by subpopulation of cells from the nervous and immune systems. However the antigen could not be detected on the PC12 cell line used for immunization suggesting that Balb/C mice spontaneously produce antibody to this rat differentiation antigen.