ANALYSIS OF BOVINE B-CELL REACTIVE MONOCLONAL-ANTIBODIES

Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) submitted to the workshop B cell panel we re screened for reactivity with bovine surface immunoglobulin positive (SIg(+)) cells from tonsil, mesenteric lymph nodes (MLN), ileal Peyer 's patches (IPP), thymus and peripheral blood by fluorescence activate d cell sorter (FAGS) analysis, All mAbs within B cell panel reacted wi th B cells except the negative control mAb VPM61. Although most mAbs s tained the majority of B cells from different tissues, 14 mAbs did not stain B cells from IPP. Detailed FAGS analysis of the 24 mAbs in prel iminary clusters PC17, PC28, PC29, PC30, PC35, PC41 and PC43 showed al l preliminary clusters (PC) to contain mAbs with similar and variable specificities. This absence of clear-cut clusters therefore did not pe rmit a simple classification of B cell surface antigens via the B cell mAbs and suggests considerable complexity and variability of the B ce ll surface.