H-2 Antigens on a murine lymphoma are associated with additional proteins

THERE have been reports indicating that the normal phenotypic expression of histocompatibility antigens is altered on tumour cells¹, and a disappearance or diminution of H-2 expression on murine tumour cells has been demonstrated^2,3. The nature of these changes has so far remained unclear. It has also been shown that H-2D and H-2K antigens are important in T-cell mediated lysis of virus infected or transformed syngeneic cells ^4,5. One explanation for these phenomena proposes that H-2 antigens are modified by association with additional cell-surface molecules to form a neoantigen or 'altered self'⁶. We report here immunochemical evidence for alteration of H-2 antigens on tumour cells by association with additional proteins.