We established a monoclonal antibody against a surface antigen of activated macrophages (Møs) involved in the rejection of an allografted mouse tumor, Meth A. Bacteria-elicited Møs also expressed the antigen but resident or inflammatory Møs, or other leukocytes, did not. The antigen was identified as Ly-6C by isolation of cDNA clones encoding it. Two-dimensional immunoblotting revealed that Ly-6C of the Møs exists in multiple forms with a similar size but with different isoelectric points. A Ly-6C pre-mRNA also accumulated abundantly in the Møs. Thus, the multiple expression of Ly-6C and the accumulation of the pre-mRNA are the features of allograft- and bacteria-elicited Møs.