Evolution of Primate Leucocyte Surface Antigens

Abstract

Every variety of monoclonal antibodies (MoAb) against human lymphocyte antigens provides effective means for precise analysis of immunocompetent cells. The evolution of epitopes of lymphocyte surface molecules, e. g. T lymphocyte antigens and human leucocyte antigens (HLA), in primates have been examined using these MoAb. It has been fonnd that some epitopes were conservative in primate evolution while others were not, by assessment of the cross-reactivities of non-human primate lymphocytes to a panel of these MoAb. In this paper, I describe a relationship between the reactivities of primate leucocytes for MoAb of human lymphocytes and primate phylogeny, inter- and intra-specific variations of epitope expression, and the analysis of functional epitopes of a lymphocyte surface molecule. The reactivities of primate leucocytes to MoAb with the specificity of Japanese monkey major histocompatibility antigens (MHC) class II-like molecule are also discussed.