Expression of ABH and X (Lex) antigens on platelets and lymphocytes
R Mollicone, T Caillard, J Le Pendu, A Francois, N Sansonetti, H Villarroya and R Oriol
Institut d'Immunobiologie, Hopital Broussais, Paris, France.
We used a panel of reagents, polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies, and
lectins to define the expression of the ABH- and Lewis-related
specificities on platelets and lymphocytes. We also determined the
expression of the alpha 2- and alpha 3-L-fucosyltransferases necessary for
their biosynthesis. The antigens that could be detected by
immunofluorescence and Western blot analysis were based on type 2
monofucosylated structures. Antibodies directed toward types 1, 3, and 4
ABH-, X- and Lewis-related antigenic determinants were always negative
because the small amounts of ABH and Lewis antigens adsorbed from the serum
could not be detected by these techniques. The presence of the type 2 ABH
antigens on intrinsic glycoproteins was controlled by the H gene. This
correlates with the presence of alpha 2-L- fucosyltransferase and the
absence of alpha 3-L-fucosyltransferase on platelets. In contrast, ABH
antigens were not detected by immunofluorescence on normal peripheral
lymphocytes. These cells thus have only the small amounts of antigens
adsorbed from the serum, these being under control of the secretor and
Lewis genes. This correlates with the absence of alpha
2-L-fucosyltransferase on lymphocytes. When lymphocytes were transformed in
vitro by the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), however, they strongly expressed the
X and sialylated X antigens, which are specific markers of normal
granulocytes and monocytes, respectively. Treatment of EBV-transformed
lymphoblastoid cell lines with 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-O-acetate
significantly decreased the expression of X and sialylated X antigens along
with that of surface immunoglobulins, whereas it induced a significant
expression of the H antigen under control of the H gene.
Volume 71,
Issue 4,
pp. 1113-1119,
04/01/1988
Copyright © 1988 by The American Society of Hematology
