MONOCLONAL ANTIBODY SPECIFIC TO A NOVEL EPITOPE OF THE LFA-1 ANTIGEN OF HUMAN T LYMPHOCYTES

摘要

A monoclonal antibody which binds preferentially to a subset of the human CD8 lymphocyte population whereby to positively and precisely distinguish between cytotoxic effector and suppressor effector cells in the CD8 cell population. The monoclonal antibody recognizes a novel epitope of LFA-1 antigen by means of which it can bind CD8 cells which express the epitope on a surface antigen thereof. The CD8 subset cell population to which this antibody binds preferentially is the CD8 cytotoxic effector population. This selectivity of the monoclonal antibody enables cell sorting, diagnostic and positive therapeutic applications thereof to be utilized.