Antibody responses of human lymphocytes in vitro. Enhancing effects of hydrocortisone.

Cultures of human tonsillar lymphocytes stimulated by pokeweed mitogen in the presence of hydrocortisone succinate generate more sheep red blood cell-specific plaque-forming cells than when the hydrocortisone is absent. Such enhancement is even more marked when sheep red blood cells and pokeweed mitogen are present in cultures. This contrasts with the inability of sheep red blood cells to enhance pokeweed mitogen-stimulated response in cultures lacking hydrocortisone. Hydrocortisone causes greater enhancement when the concentration of cells in culture is high than when it is low. These data are consistent with hydrocortisone inhibiting the activity of suppressor cells which would otherwise mask helper effects.     

Soluble erythrocyte antigens preferentially enhance cross-reactive specificities in human antibody responses

Stimulation of human tonsillar lymphocytes in culture with pokeweed mitogen (PWM) results in the production of a large number of antibody-forming cells which can be measured in the sheep erythrocyte (SE)-specific, direct haemolytic plaque-forming cell (PFC) assay. For optimal responsiveness in this system the human AB serum supplementing the culture medium must have been preabsorbed with SE. This effect is due, at least in part, to release during the absorption step of soluble immunogenic material from SE which acts synergistically with PWM to produce an enhanced response but which is unable to stimulate a response in the absence of the mitogen. In contrast to SE, absorption of AB serum with ox or horse erythrocytes failed to increase erythrocyte-specific responses. However, absorption with goat erythrocytes (GE) enhanced both SE- and GE-specific responses. An analysis of PFC specificities in cultures containing absorbed or unabsorbed serum revealed that enhanced responsiveness in the presence of absorbed serum was due to an increase in the proportion of PFC which cross-reacted with both SE and GE. The significance of this observation is discussed in terms of the antigenic requirements of interacting T- and B-cell subpopulations.     

Activation of human B lymphocytes. XIV. Characterization of the precursor of the pokeweed mitogen-induced anti-sheep red blood cell plaque-forming cell.

The precursor of the pokeweed mitogen (PWM)-induced anti-sheep red blood cell (SRBC) plaque-forming cell (PFC) in human peripheral blood was characterized. By a variety of purification procedures, it was demonstrated to be a lymphocyte with surface characteristics of a B cell. Furthermore, it was demonstrated to bind to sheep erythrocytes (E) and thus segregated with the E-rosetting T cells when T cell enrichment was performed by differential fractionation of E-rosetting cells. This binding of the PFC precursor to E was blocked by pretreating the lymphocyte with anti-human Ig before E rosetting, indicating that the PFC precursor specifically bound to SRBC by a surface Ig molecule with binding specificity for sheep red blood cell determinants. Hence, the precursor of the PWM-triggered anti-SRBC PFC is a B lymphocyte with surface Ig expressing specificity for SRBC.     

Stimulation of antibody synthesizing lymphocytes in the rat by antigen reactive cells sensitized in vitro.

Lymphocytes obtained from rat spleens were sensitized in vitro to sheep erythrocytes. The sensitized lymphocytes did not synthesize antibody but when injected into unimmunized rats did stimulate antibody production to sheep erythrocytes. Analysis of the location of 7 and 19 S plaque-forming cells in the recipient rats indicated that these two antibody synthesizing cell populations arise from different lymphocytes. It was also found that the sensitized lymphocytes could react only with a limited number of antibody synthesizing cells.     

Human lymphocyte subpopulations: giant SRBC rosettes.

Human thymus-derived lymphocytes have the ability to form rosettes with sheep red blood cells (SRBC) in vitro. In the investigation of rosettes of peripheral blood lymphocytes of 10 normal subjects, the number of SRBC adhering to the lymphocyte in each of 100 rosettes was assessed. The percentage of rosettes with SRBC greater than or equal to 36 per rosette was only 1.2 +/- 0.5. These were defined as giant SRBC rosettes. Peripheral blood lymphocytes were stimulated in vitro by four mitogens: sodium periodate, neuraminidase plus galactose oxidase, pokeweed mitogen, and concanavalin A. The lymphocytes were then cultured at 37 degrees C. The giant rosette-forming lymphocytes became significantly increased 4 to 24 hr after stimulation, prior to the appearance of lymphoblasts or increased incorporation of tritiated thymidine. The giant rosettes were not caused by the hemagglutinating properties of pokeweed mitogen and concanavalin A that were adsorbed on the lymphocyte surfaces. This was shown by the fact that, on removal of the receptors by trypsinization, they were regenerated on culture in vitro in the absence of the mitogens. It was concluded that giant SRBC rosettes constituted a marker for some of the activated lymphocytes. Their appearance was independent of the increase in size of the cells or of DNA synthesis. These receptors were intrinsic to lymphocytes and not caused by mitogens adsorbed on their surfaces.     

Human bone marrow lymphocytes. III. Polyclonal activation of B lymphocytes in human bone marrow measured by a direct plaque-forming cell assay.

Lymphocytes from the bone marrow and peripheral blood of the same normal individuals were assayed simultaneously for blast transformation as well as polyclonal activation with differentiation to antibody-forming cells after stimulation with pokeweed mitogen. Blastogenic responses were measured by tritiated thymidine incorporation and antibody-forming cell assay. There was no significant difference between the blastogenic responses of lymphocytes in the peripheral blood compared to the bone marrow of the same individuals. However, differentiation to antibody-forming cells measured by the plaque-forming cell response was significantly greater in lymphocytes in the bone marrow as compared to peripheral blood of the same individuals. These studies demonstrate that the lymphocytes in human bone marrow are at a stage of differentiation whereby they can be readily induced to differentiation toward antibody production by polyclonal activation, even more so than peripheral blood lymphocytes. This supports the concept that the bone marrow is a major source of immunoglobulin production in man.     

The interaction of CD2 with its LFA-3 ligand expressed by autologous erythrocytes results in enhancement of B cell responses

The addition of autologous erythrocytes to unfractionated human mononuclear cell cultures results in enhancement of B cell responses to antigens and mitogens. This costimulating effect of red cells is abrogated by their preincubation with anti-LFA-3 monoclonal antibody. Preincubation of mononuclear cells with anti-CD2 monoclonal antibodies (anti-Leu 5b, OKT11, used singly) has a down-regulating effect on B cell activation and no enhancement of B cell responses is seen when red cells are added to anti-CD2-treated cultures. These results demonstrate a functional effect on B cells of the interaction between the CD2 molecule on T lymphocytes and its natural ligand, LFA-3. The precise mechanism by which this costimulating effect on B lymphocytes takes place is unclear. The study of T cell populations and T cell activation markers shows that the addition of erythrocytes causes a small but reproducible increase in the number of cells expressing the IL-2 receptor and the addition of IL-2 enhances the response of mononuclear cells to antigenic stimulation in the presence of erythrocytes. However, the supernatants of mononuclear cell cultures stimulated with pokeweed mitogen in the presence of autologous erythrocytes show decreased levels of IL-2, compared to supernatants of cells stimulated with pokeweed mitogen alone. The same supernatants show increased levels of interferon-gamma, but the addition of this lymphokine to cultures stimulated with pokeweed mitogen has no potentiating effect. It is possible that the effect of erythrocytes is mediated by other growth and/or differentiation factors, and additional studies will be required to clarify this point.     

The xenogeneic effect. I. Antigen and mitogen-stimulated human lymphocytes produce a non-antigen-specific factor which reconstitutes the antibody response of T cell-deficient mouse spleen cells.

Modified Marbrook culture vessels with two chambers separated by a 0.2-mu porosity membrane have been utilized to show that antigen-stimulated human lymphocytes produce a soluble factor(s) which restores the ability of thymectomized, irradiated, and bone marrow-protected mice to mount a primary IgM plaque-forming cell response in vitro. In the initial experiments, the human lymphocytes plus antigen (sheep erythrocytes) were cultured in the lower chambers of the Marbrook vessels and the T cell-deficient mouse spleen cells plus sheep erythrocytes were cultured in the upper chambers. The response of the spleen cells was shown to be enhanced as a function of the number of human lymphocytes in the lower chambers. In subsequent experiments, the human lymphocytes were challenged with allogeneic lymphocytes or activated with a variety of T cell mitogens. Supernatants from these cultures, when placed in the lower chambers of the Marbrook vessels, were also capable of reconstituting the antibody-forming cell response of the mouse B cells. The results of the experiments are discussed in relation to a model of B cell induction which incorporates a non-antigen-specific "helpher" T cell.     

Biological characterization of T and B lymphocytes separated from normal mouse spleen by a physical adherence column method

The capacity of spleen cell populations enriched for T and B lymphocytes by a physical adherence column method to respond in vitro to phytomitogens and allogeneic lymphocytes was determined. Column filtrate cells (T lymphocytes) responded well to phytohaemagglutinin- and mitomycin-C-treated allogeneic spleen cells, but poorly to pokeweed mitogen. Adherent cell populations from the column (B and some T lymphocytes) responded well to pokeweed mitogen, but poorly to phytohaemagglutinin- and mitomycin-C-treated allogeneic cells.Purified peripheral T lymphocytes prepared from normal mouse spleen by the column method reconstituted the depleted in vitro antibody response to the thymic-dependent SRBC antigen of all B lymphocyte sources tested, namely, spleen cells from congenitally athymic mice, neonatally thymectomized mice, and adult thymectomized mice which had been reconstituted with bone marrow, and a lymphocyte population prepared by incubating spleen cells with anti-θ serum and complement. When transferred with sheep erythrocytes to congenitally athymic mice, purified peripheral T cells restored the in vivo IgM and IgG responses of these animals. These results confirm that the column filtrate is a thymus derived subpopulation of cells capable of cell-mediated immunity and cooperation with B lymphocytes in humoral immunity both in vitro and in vivo.     

Influence of human thymocytes on B-lymphocyte differentiation in man.

Human thymocytes from children less than 6 years of age were tested for their influence on differentiation of normal B cells. The addition of either thymocytes or a culture supernatant from thymocytes to normal peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) enhanced pokeweed mitogen-induced B-cell differentiation as tested in a plaque-forming assay for antibody to sheep red blood cells. The thymocytes, however, could not substitute for T lymphocytes in cultures of PBL which had been previously depleted of T lymphocytes. Further, prior treatment of thymocytes with concanavalin A did not result in generation of suppressor cells for either B-cell differentiation or for the responses of PBL to mitogens. Thus, although thymocytes were functionally immature by these assays as compared to mature T lymphocytes they exerted an influence on B-cell differentiation in cultures of normal peripheral blood lymphocytes.     

Activation of human B lymphocytes. IX. Modulation of antibody production by products of activated macrophages.

Human monocytes, after in vitro activation by mixed lymphocyte culture (MLC) supernatants produce a monokine (MK) that enhances the plaque-forming cell (PFC) response of pokeweed mitogen (PWM)-stimulated human B lymphocytes. Technical conditions and kinetics of MK production were established. Irradiation of monocytes (5000 rads) does not abolish MK production but heat-killed cells are unable to release the factor. Highly T cell-depleted monocyte populations still produced the PFC-enhancing factor. The same MK has an inconsistent enhancing effect on the PFC responses of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and nocardia water-soluble mitogen (NWSM)-stimulated B cells. Other macrophage activators such as LPS, phytohemagglutinin (PHA), and latex particles failed to induce consistently the liberation of the PFC-enhancing MK. The target cell for the MK activity on PWM-stimulated B cells appears to be the B lymphocyte itself. These studies demonstrate that soluble monocyte products can have substantial modulatory effects on human B cell function.     

Functional differentiation of B lymphocytes in agammaglobulinemia. III. Characterization of spontaneous suppressor cell activity.

The addition of fresh peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBL) from four of seven patients with agammaglobulinemia to generated hemolytic plaque-forming cells (PFC) resulted in a dose-dependent suppression of PFC. This spontaneous suppressor cell activity (SSA) was restricted to the four patients who could generate a PFC response in vitro. SSA was mediated by a small subset of E-rosetting T lymphocytes characterized by theophylline-sensitive E-receptors and surface receptors for Fc-IgG. The effects of SSA were temperature dependent and reversible, and pokeweed mitogen could prevent the rapid decline of SSA observed during culture. Augmentation of SSA was achieved by agents known to increase intracellular levels of cyclic AMP, whereas lithium chloride abrogated SSA, including the drug-induced effects. Cells mediating SSA may play a role in preventing the normal transition of pre-B cells to B cells in patients with agammaglobulinemia without B lymphocytes.     

Lymphocyte membrane receptors in cultures treated with mitogens

Lymphocyte membrane receptors for sheep erythrocytes (E) and human erythrocytes sensitized with antibody and complement (HEAC) were used as markers for human T and B cells, respectively. Combining the method of rosette formation with E and HEAC with radioautography, we have studied the effect of in vitro stimulation with phytohemagglutinin (PHA), concanavalin A (Con A), pokeweed mitogen (PWM), staphylococcal filtrate (SF) and mercuric chloride (HgCl₂) on the proportion of small lymphocytes and blasts presenting these receptors. After mitogenic stimulation, small lymphocytes as well as blasts were found forming rosettes with E or HEAC, in variable proportions. PHA, Con A, SF and HgCl₂ showed a similar effect in vitro since most of the blasts obtained after stimulation had receptors for E and a smaller proportion for HEAC.The stimulation with PWM led to a blast population made up of a higher percentage of HEAC than E rosette-forming cells.     

Distinctive functional properties of human blood L lymphocytes: a comparison with T lymphocytes, B lymphocytes, and monocytes.

Human blood lymphocytes with high affinity Fc receptors have been operationally named L lymphocytes because of membrane-labile IgG markers. L lymphocytes lack membrane-incorporated immunoglobulin and do not form rosettes with sheep red blood cells coated with IgM antibody and mouse complement. These lymphocytes are capable of binding IgG in normal human serum at 4 degrees C and will form rosettes with human lymphocytes coated with Ripley IgG. In this study, functional in vitro properties of isolated L lymphocytes were compared with T lymphocytes, B lymphocytes, and monocytes. To obtain these mononuclear populations, first, plastic adherent monocytes were harvested. T lymphocytes were then isolated by centrifugation of E rosette-forming cells, and other rosetting techniques were employed to isolate L and B lymphocytes by negative selection. The functional properties of L lumphocytes were completely unlike those of T cells, B cells, or monocytes. L lymphocytes did not proliferate in response to mitogens, soluble antigens, or cell surface antigens. Moreover, this population could not replace monocytes in helping T lymphocytes respond to concanavalin A and pokeweed mitogen. Once T cells were supplemented with monocytes, however, the addition of L lymphocytes to the culture greatly enhanced the T lymphocytes proliferative response to phytohemagglutinin, concanavalinA, purified protein derivative (PPD), and streptokinase/streptodornase. L lymphocytes were not a subset of B cells. They did not spontaneously develop surface Ig in culture, and pokeweek mitogen could not induce them to transform and generate cytoplasmic Ig detectable by immunofluorescence. Mixtures of B cells and T cells responded to pokeweed mitogen better than do T cells alone. In contrast, enhanced reactivity with L and T cell combinations was not observed. Another sharp difference between these two populations was the stimulator capacity of each in mixed lymphocyte culture. When B and L lymphocytes were carefully monocyte-depleted, only B cells were effective stimulators of autologous and allogeneic lymphocytes. In comparison with T cells, B cells, and monocytes, L lymphocytes were the only effective killers of human blood lymphocytes sensitized with IgG. L lymphocytes, then, have cytotoxic potential, but cannot proliferate in response to various stimulants or become antibody-producing cells. These findings suggest that L lymphocytes comprise a third lymphocyte population.     

Mitogen activation of human chronic lymphatic leukemia cells. I. Synthesis and secretion of immunoglobulin.

The response of CLL (chronic lymphatic leukemia) lymphocytes to PHA, PWM, and Con A with respect to changes in surface markers and synthesis and secretion of immunoglobulin were examined. After PHA stimulation the percentage of cells bearing readily detectable surface immunoglobulin (SmIg) diminished rapidly whereas cells forming rosettes with sheep erythrocytes (E-rosettes) increased from less than 1% to 30 to 50%. The great majority of blast-transformed cells were E-rosette-positive cells with a small population of SmIg-positive blast cells also observed. Ig production in four of seven CLL lymphocyte populations was increased 2.5 to greater than 40-fold after 4 to 6 days of culture in the presence of PHA. In contrast, pokeweed mitogen did not affect Ig synthesis. Furthermore, the Ig secreted into the culture supernatant fluids from seven of eight CLL cases examined consisted almost entirely of free light chain molecules. In contrast, the cell lysates contained a significant proportion of intact Ig molecules. These results indicate that CLL cells can, under certain circumstances, be stimulated to synthesize and secrete increased amounts of Ig, but that there is a basic defect in the biosynthetic mechanism of these cells which result in the secretion of free light chains rather than intact immunoglobulin molecules.     

Lack of interaction of circulating T cells with phytohemagglutinin in bacillary positive untreated lepromatous leprosy patients--identification of subpopulation of lymphocytes by shifts in electrophoretic mobility.

Incubation of human peripheral blood lymphocytes from normal healthy subjects with phytohamagglutinin (PHA), causes the reduction of the surface charge of a subpopulation of T cells by 1363 +/- 242 e.s.u./cm2. The affected subpopulation was predominantly the high charge-bearing cells identifiable with early (10 min) rosette-forming cells with sheep erythrocytes. Purified lymphocytes obtained from untreated bacillary-positive, lepromatous leprosy patients contained high charge-bearing T lymphocyte subpopulation. However, incubation with PHA did not result in the shift of electrophoretic mobility of these cells, suggesting the absence of interacting sites for the mitogen on the surface of these cells. The absence of mitogen-interacting sites is not an inherent trait of leprosy patients; the surface charge of lymphocytes from Dapsone-treated bacillary-negative subjects was reduced upon incubation with PHA. A close correlation was found between the number of cells whose charge alters on incubation with PHA and the transformation index obtained with this mitogen.     

Suppression of the late stages of mitogen-induced human B cell differentiation by FC gamma receptors (FC gamma R) released from polymorphonuclear neutrophils

During short incubation in serum-free medium, polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN) release soluble material that can be characterized as receptors for Fc IgG (Fc gamma R) on the following evidence: it agglutinates erythrocyte-IgG antibody (EAG) complexes, it prevents the binding of EAG to EAG-rosette-forming cells, and it binds to EAG-rosette-forming cells after modulation of their Fc gamma R, allowing the formation of 'passive' rosettes. These Fc gamma R were isolated by affinity chromatography on sepharose 4B-IgG. This material was shown to interfere with the differentiation of peripheral blood B cells into Ig-secreting cells in cultures stimulated by pokeweed (PWM) or Nocardia opaca (NOC) extracts. The number of Ig-secreting cells determined by a reverse hemolytic plaque assay using protein A-coated sheep erythrocytes was decreased by addition of Fc gamma R over a wide range of dilutions. The number of Ig-containing cells was diminished in PWM-stimulated cultures, but not in cultures stimulated with NOC. Fc gamma R did not affect cell viability, nor did they interfere with plaque-forming cell assay. Fc gamma R was not suppressive when added before the 3rd day or after the 6th day of culture. The suppressor factor was shown to remain associated with Fc gamma R after elution at acidic pH; it was removed by absorption on Sepharose 4B-IgG, but not on pepsin-digested F(ab')2 fragments. The suppressive factor as well as the capacity to restore EAG rosette formation by modulated lymphocytes were destroyed by heating (56 degrees C, 30 min) or by freezing and thawing. Properties of Fc gamma R released from PMN in this system are similar to those of Fc gamma R released from unstimulated human peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) and to those of mouse Ig-binding factor produced by alloactivated T cells or T cell lines.     

Isolation and characterization of membrane receptors for pokeweed mitogens from mouse lymphocytes.

The major glycoproteins that bind pokeweek B-cell mitogen (Pa-1) and pokeweed T-cell mitogen (Pa-2) were isolated and identified from bone-marrow-derived lymphocytes (B-cells) and thymus-derived lymphocytes (T-cells) of C3H/He mice. The surfaces of the cells were 125I-labelled by using the enzyme lactoperoxidase, and the plasma membranes were isolated from the 125I-labelled cells. These membranes were solubilized with Triton X-100 and subjected to affinity chromatography on the affinity adsorbent prepared by coupling mitogen Pa-1 or Pa-2 to activated Sepharose 4B. The glycoproteins specifically eluted with di-N-acetylchitobiose from the affinity adsorbents were analysed according to their mobility on polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis in sodium dodecyl sulphate. These glycoproteins were further identified by immunoprecipitation with specific antisera. Immunoglobulins, possibly immunoglobulins M and D, were identified in the eluate from the B-cell membranes, but they were not detected in the eluate from the T-cell membranes. The histocompatibility-2-complex proteins (H-2D, H-2K and Ia antigens) were found to be major receptor sites for the pokeweed mitogens on both B-cells and T-cells. However, mitogen Pa-1 (B-cell) has a stronger affinity to Ia antigens than does mitogen Pa-2 (T-cell).     

Abnormalities of immunoregulatory T cell subsets in patients with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus

Patients with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) have autoantibodies that react with cells in the islets of Langerhans. To determine whether these patients suffer from a more generalized immunoregulatory disorder, the ratio of phenotypic helper to suppressor cells was evaluated by specific monoclonal antibodies. Our experiments showed that the helper/suppressor cell ratio was significantly increased in patients with IDDM of less of 2 mo duration and then gradually returned to normal. Despite the alteration in the helper/suppressor cell ratio, there was no evidence for polyclonal activation as measured by the number of immunoglobulin-secreting plaque-forming cells in the peripheral blood. There was, however, a significant increase in the number of spontaneous plaque-forming cells in patients suffering from both IDDM and Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT). Nonetheless, immunoglobulin production after stimulation with pokeweed mitogen was not different in diabetics with or without HT when compared to normal controls. These findings suggest that subtle changes in the immunoregulatory system occur during the early stages of IDDM.     

Phosphatidylserine suppresses antigen-specific IgM production by mice orally administered sheep red blood cells.

Phosphatidylserine is an endogenous acidic phospholipid that has been shown to modulate nervous system function. In the immune system, phosphatidylserine has been shown to suppress T dependent and T independent immune responses after systemic administration of antigen and lipid. However, no studies on the possible regulation by phosphatidylserine on mucosal immunity have been undertaken. Therefore, we studied the action of phosphatidylserine on immunocompetence using orally immunized mice. Mice orally administered phosphatidylserine (25 mg/kg/day) and subsequently intubated intragastrically with sheep red blood cells showed a significant decrease in antigen-specific IgM production by splenic lymphocytes compared with controls. Furthermore, the response of splenic lymphocytes obtained from phosphatidylserine-treated, antigen-primed animals to antigen or pokeweed mitogen in proliferation assays was markedly suppressed, compared with splenic lymphocytes obtained from nontreated, antigen-primed mice. Similarly, splenic lymphocytes from phosphatidylserine-treated, antigen-primed animals cultured in the presence of antigen produced no measurable interleukin 4 and low levels of interleukin 2, whereas splenic lymphocytes from antigen-primed animals produced measurable levels of interleukin 4 and significantly higher levels of interleukin 2. By fluorescence-activated cell sorter analysis, brightly stained B lymphocytes (Ig+) take up a larger portion of phosphatidylserine than do brightly stained T lymphocytes (Thy 1.2+). Collectively, these results point to the immunosuppressive qualities of phosphatidylserine. Given that phosphatidylserine is released upon injury and destruction of eukaryotic cells, these results suggest that phosphatidylserine may be an endogenous anti-inflammatory molecule.