Perforin mRNA in primary peritoneal exudate cytotoxic T lymphocytes

Considerable evidence indicates that cloned CTL cell lines kill target cells by releasing toxic granules that contain a cytolytic protein, called perforin, and several serine esterases (granzymes A to F). However, primary CTL, such as the highly cytolytic peritoneal exudate lymphocyte (PEL) cell population, have been found by a hemolytic assay to have no perforin, or perhaps only borderline levels of that protein, suggesting that these cells use a different lytic mechanism. To determine whether or not primary CTL express the perforin gene, we have here compared mRNA from PEL CTL and from a cloned CTL cell line, 2C, by Northern blot analysis using a perforin cDNA probe. CD8+ PEL CTL contain approximately 30% of the amount of perforin message present in 2C. Moreover, depletion of CD8+ T cells from the total peritoneal exudate cell population removes both cytolytic activity and perforin message. We have previously shown that PEL CTL elicit the same changes in target cells as cloned CTL cell lines and are resistant to lysis by the toxic granules purified from these cells lines. Taken together these results are consistent with the view that primary CTL, as well as long term cloned CTL cell lines, exercise their cytolytic activity by means of perforin.     

Analysis of lymphocytes reactive to histocompatibility antigens. II. Exponential alloantigen-dependent lymphocyte growth in vitro

Rat thoracic duct lymphocytes were maintained in continual blast transformation and cell division by repeated in vitro stimulation with allogeneic cells. This resulted in increases in responder cell numbers of up to 10,000-fold in 10-day periods. Growth of responder lymphocyte populations was dependent upon cell density, culture medium nutrients, and the presence of antigen in the form of allogeneic cells. A titration assay for mixed lymphocyte interactions (MLI) was used to relate absolute growth of cells in preparative cultures to [³H]thymidine incorporation in analytical MLI. Growth of lymphocyte populations derived by repeated stimulation with cells bearing a single foreign MHC haplotype was supported to lesser, variable degrees by stimulation with unrelated “third party” stimulator cells. The extent of this operational cross-reactivity was assessed by parallel line analysis of MLI titrations of responder lymphocytes enriched for specific alloreactivity.     

Proteolytic enzyme activities in rat peritoneal exudate.

Proteinase activities in rat thioglycollate elicited peritoneal cells and the cell-free supernatant (lavage fluid) were measured by using the following substrates: Suc-Ala-Ala-Pro-Phe-Methyl-Coumarin-Amide (for cathepsin G or chymase), Suc-Ala-Ala-Ala-AMC (for elastase or elastase-like), Z-Arg-Arg-AMC (for cathepsin B), haemoglobin (for cathepsin D) and Ala-AMC (for alanine-aminopeptidase: AAP). The enzyme activities were correlated to the quantitative distribution of various cell types in the exudate from 0 to 192 nd h. In the supernatant all the examined activities showed a higher value at 72nd h. In the cells activity of chymase and AAP proved to be very high at 0 h but after four h the activities were dropped. From this time all enzyme activities started to elevate till the 24th h. At the 96th h only the activity of cathepsin B and AAP had a high value. We conclude that the intracellular activation and secretion of proteolytic enzymes characteristic for the various peritoneal cell types involved in the acute and chronic inflammatory reaction can be followed by activity measurements using enzyme-specific substrates and inhibitors.     

Interaction of rat peritoneal macrophages with homologous, sialidase-treated lymphocytes in vitro

The interaction in vitro between rat peritoneal macrophages and homologous, sialidase-treated lymphocytes was investigated. Lymphocytes were isolated from blood, thymus, and spleen on a density gradient. Total sialic acids obtained by acid hydrolysis were 10 nmol/10(8) lymphocytes, composed of 29% N-acetyl-neuraminic acid and 71% N-glycoloylneuraminic acid. Sialidase treatment released maximally 33% of membrane sialic acids. Lymphocytes were bound to peritoneal macrophages to an extent which increased in parallel with the amount of sialic acids released, whereas binding of untreated lymphocytes was not significant. This interaction was inhibited by free galactose and substances containing terminal galactose residues. Asialoorosomucoid with its oligoantennary sugar chains proved to be a 10(5) times more potent inhibitor of the interaction than lactose. The addition of homologous serum had no influence on binding. Electron microscopy revealed that vital lymphocytes were tightly bound to macrophages and only damaged lymphocytes appeared to be phagocytozed. The experiments demonstrate that the interaction between rat peritoneal macrophages and sialidase-treated lymphocytes is mediated by a macrophage receptor specific for galactose. This sugar is demasked on the surface of lymphocytes after the removal of terminal sialic acids. The role of this mechanism in cell recognition, elimination and homing of lymphocytes is discussed.     

Why do so many lymphocytes respond to major histocompatibility antigens?

A large fraction of T lymphocytes respond to allogeneic cells. Products of the major histocompatibility (H) complex influence the antigenicity of other cell surface components. We propose that lymphocytes responding to cells that differ genetically only at the major H locus recognize not only the major H difference, but also a multitude of other surface components in combination with the major H antigens. The large frequency of lymphocytes responding to allogeneic cells, then, becomes a function of the number of complex antigens they are recognizing on the foreign cells.     

Interactions of tumor-associated fetal antigens with rat histocompatibility antigens

The physical interactions of fetal antigens (tumor-associated fetal antigens; TAFA-I, TAFA-II, and TAFA-III) with rat histocompatibility antigens were studied. TAFA-I and TAFA-III are present on syngeneic (NBR) and allogeneic (Fisher F344, Wistar Furth, and White Buffalo) rat embryo fibroblasts and on tumor cells. TAFA-II was found only on NBR (syngeneic) rat embryo fibroblasts and on NBR tumor cells. Antibody-blocking experiments were used to examine the fetal and histocompatibility antigen topography on cell membranes of tumor cells transformed by chemical and viral carcinogens. Precoating the tumor cells with alloantisera inhibited the subsequent adsorption of anti-NBR embryo, anti-TAFA-I, and anti-TAFA-III sera, but not anti-TAFA-II serum. Immunofluorescent cocapping experiments indicated that TAFA-I and TAFA-III, as well as other fetal antigens found on cells from 14-day gestation NBR embryos cocap with histocompatibility antigens when tested on syngeneic embryo fibroblasts and on sarcoma cells. TAFA-I cocapped with White Buffalo (Buf) strain rat histocompatibility antigens on herpes simplex Type II virus-transformed cells. The specificity of the TAFA-histocompatibility interactions was confirmed by demonstrating that the different anti-TAFA sera did not have contaminating antiviral antigen specificity; and also that these interactions did not occur on normal adult fibroblasts or spleen cells.     

Sodium-dependent nucleoside transport in mouse lymphocytes, human monocytes, and hamster macrophages and peritoneal exudate cells.

Mouse splenocytes and hamster peritoneal exudate cells (PEC), including macrophages, were shown to contain a predominantly Na(+)-dependent and inhibitor (6-[(4-nitrobenzyl)-mercapto]purine ribonucleoside, NBMPR)-resistant transport system for adenosine and other nucleosides. Adenosine (1 microM) was transported about equally in mouse thymocytes and human monocytes from peripheral blood by a Na(+)-dependent system and the NBMPR-sensitive facilitated diffusion system. Hamster PEC also transported inosine, tubercidin, formycin B, uridine, and thymidine in a NBMPR-insensitive manner. With the exception of formycin B, all nucleosides were phosphorylated intracellularly to varying degree, adenosine being almost fully phosphorylated. During the time course of routine experiments (30 s) formycin B was concentrated twofold over external medium levels (1 microM) without any drop-off in the transport rate. On the basis of metabolic studies it was estimated that uridine and tubercidin were also transported against a concentration gradient. Inosine, guanosine, 2'-deoxyadenosine, tubercidin, formycin B, and the pyrimidines uridine, thymidine, and cytidine (all 100 microM) inhibited transport of adenosine and inosine about 50-100%, while 3'-deoxyinosine showed weak inhibitory action. Transport of thymidine was strongly inhibited by nucleosides except by 3'-deoxyinosine. The Na(+)-dependent, active, and concentration transport system appears to be a feature of many immune-type cells, and its presence offers particular conceptual possibilities for the therapy of infections located in these cells.     

Regulation of macrophage populations. II. Synthesis and expression of Ia antigens by peritoneal exudate macrophages is a transient event

We have evaluated the biosynthesis and surface expression of I-A antigens by peritoneal macrophages and found that both events terminated during the 1st day in culture, in contrast to the undiminished synthesis and expression of H-2K antigens. This pattern was observed regardless of the means by which the macrophages were elicited, but was subject to modulation for a limited period of time in vitro: phagocytic stimuli were able to augment both I-A synthesis and expression. The loss of I-A and the re-expression after phagocytosis were both reflected in the stimulatory capacity of these macrophages in the mixed leukocyte reaction. Moreover, we found that I-A-bearing macrophages were lost from the exudate in vivo after irradiation. Our data suggest that, as in vitro, this phenomenon is due to the transition of individual macrophages from I-A-positive to I-A-negative, and that constant renewal is required to maintain the I-A-bearing subset in vivo.     

Phosphorylation of class I histocompatibility antigens in human B lymphocytes. Regulation by phorbol esters and insulin.

Phosphorylation of membrane proteins is one of the earliest steps in cell activation induced by growth-promoting agents. Since MHC (major histocompatibility complex) class I molecules are known to contain phosphorylation sites in their C-terminal intracellular domain, we have studied the regulation of HLA (human leucocyte antigen) phosphorylation in intact cells by two mitogens, namely TPA (12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate), a phorbol ester, and insulin, which are thought to exert their mitogenic effects through the stimulation of different protein kinases (protein kinase C and a tyrosine kinase respectively). Human B lymphoblastoid cells (526 cell line) were pulsed with [32P]Pi to label the intracellular ATP pool. Cells were then stimulated for 10 min with TPA, insulin, cyclic AMP or EGF (epidermal growth factor). The reaction was stopped by cell lysis in the presence of kinase and phosphatase inhibitors, and class I HLA antigens were immunoprecipitated with monoclonal antibodies. Analysis of labelled proteins by gel electrophoresis and autoradiography revealed that TPA increased the phosphorylation of the 45 kDa class I heavy chain by 5-7-fold, and insulin increased it by 2-3-fold. Cyclic AMP and EGF had no stimulatory effect. Analysis of immunoprecipitated HLA molecules by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis showed that TPA and insulin stimulated the incorporation of 32P into different 45 kDa molecular species, suggesting that different sites were phosphorylated by two agents. Moreover, incubation of purified class I MHC antigens with partially purified insulin-receptor tyrosine kinase and [gamma-32P]ATP revealed that class I antigens could also be phosphorylated in vitro by this tyrosine kinase. Altogether, these results therefore confirm that insulin receptors and HLA class I molecules are not only structurally [Fehlmann, Peyron, Samson, Van Obberghen, Brandenburg & Brossette (1985) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 82, 8634-8637] but also functionally associated in the membranes of intact cells.     

Comparison of the responses of density gradient separated lymphocytes to phytohemagglutinin and histocompatibility antigens

Rat peripheral blood leukocytes were fractionated into 5–9 subpopulations by centrifugation on discontinuous density gradients of bovine serum albumin. Responses of the various fractions to phytohemagglutinin (PHA) in vitro were compared with their responses to alloantigens in the mixed lymphocyte interaction in vitro and in a graft versus host reaction in vivo. The results showed that: (a) Cells from each of the gradient fractions responded to alloantigens both in vitro and in vivo, (b) Only cells of intermediate density responded vigorously to PHA at a concentration which optimally stimulated unfractionated cells, (c) Low density lymphocytes could be stimulated by 3–9-fold lower concentrations of mitogen. (d) Cells from low and high density fractions, which alone responded poorly to PHA, showed enhanced responses when mixed. These findings may have a significant bearing on the use of the in vitro response to PHA for evaluating the overall function of thymus derived cells in clinically related studies.     

Inhibition of the mixed lymphocyte culture by peritoneal exudate cells.

Inhibition of mixed lymphocyte cultures (MLC) by macrophages and by supernatants of short term cultured macrophages was assessed by incorporation of ³H-thymidine (TdRH3) and also by blast cell counts and by determination of cellmediated lympholysis. Peritoneal exudate cells (PEC) induced by thioglycollate, at concentrations >10%, inhibited all three parameters of MLC. Lower concentrations of PEC, and supernatants from cultured PEC, inhibited TdRH3 incorporation, but had no significant effect on blast cell counts or on generation of cytotoxic effector cells. Inhibition by the supernatants could be reversed by dialysis or by use of low specific activity TdRH3. These data indicate that macrophages can inhibit proliferative responses in MLC, but that this must be carefully distinguished from selective inhibition of TdRH3 incorporation.