title: Human B cell lines express the interferon gamma gene.
abstract: Interferon gamma (IFN-gamma) production has been attributed exclusively to activated T cells and NK cells. We sought to determine whether human B cells express IFN-gamma. We studied 28 B cell lines including Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)+ normal lymphoblastoid B cell lines (N = 7), EBV+ B cell lines derived from patients with Burkitt's lymphoma with (N = 6) or without AIDS (N = 8), as well as seven EBV- B cell lines. All cell lines were studied by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). We detected constitutive expression of IFN-gamma in every B cell line. The tumor promoters PMA and teleocidin appeared to enhance this IFN-gamma expression in nearly every B cell line. The 517 bp amplicons spanning the entire protein coding region of the IFN-gamma mRNA from three representative lines were sequenced, definitively establishing that B cell IFN-gamma is identical to IFN-gamma from activated T cells and is not altered by derivation of the B cell lines from AIDS patients or by EBV status. Detection of IFN-gamma in the entire panel of EBV+ and EBV- cell lines suggests that the IFN-gamma gene is broadly expressed by human B cells. Our data imply that human B cells can be activated to produce IFN-gamma, further enmeshing B cells in the dynamics of immunoregulation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center/Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Research Institute, Columbus 43210.
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Dayton
authors.forename: T J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Knobloch
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Benjamin
mesh_terms: D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology*; D001483:Base Sequence; D002460:Cell Line; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004247:DNA / Q000235:genetics; D015870:Gene Expression / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000235:genetics*; D008235:Lyngbya Toxins / Q000494:pharmacology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics; D013755:Tetradecanoylphorbol Acetate / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D008235:Lyngbya Toxins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; C022176:teleocidins; D007371:Interferon-gamma; D004247:DNA; D013755:Tetradecanoylphorbol Acetate