THE R-C-E-F BLOOD-GROUP SYSTEM OF CHIMPANZEES - SEROLOGY AND GENETICS

Six chimpanzee alloimmune antibodies define 20 phenotypes of the R-C-E-F blood group system, the counterpart of the human Rh system. Of the several specificities of this system, the R(c) constitutes the crucial link with human Rh since the reactions of some chimpanzee alloimmune anti-R(c) sera with human red cells parallel those obtained with human anti-Rh(o) reagents. Reciprocally, properly absorbed human anti-Rh(o) sera detect R(c) specificity on chimpanzee red cells. Tests with large panels of human monoclonal anti-D antibodies confirm the notion of shared epitopes between human alloantigen Rh(o)(D) and chimpanzee alloantigen R(c).