DISCRIMINATION BETWEEN MAJOR HISTOCOMPATIBILITY COMPLEX CLASS-II DQ AND DR LOCUS PRODUCTS IN CATTLE

We have used a panel of anti-major histocompatibility complex (MHC) cl ass II monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and have assessed their specificit y for the products of the individual bovine MHC (BoLA) class II subreg ions. The mAbs identified two distinct class II molecules by affinity purification and ELISA. Two-dimensional immunoblotting confirmed these data and NH,terminal sequencing of the purified class II or chains of one member of each group identified the subregion specificity of the mAbs. The mAbs VPM36, TH22A and TH81A are specific for BoLA DQ, wherea s VPM54, TH14B and J11 are specific for BoLA DR. SW73.2 reacts with bo th MHC subgroups of all cattle tested.