Lineage switch macrophages can present antigen.
Recent reports of "lineage switching" from a lymphoid to macrophage phenotype have left unresolved the question of whether such cells are functional macrophages or nonfunctional products of differentiation gone awry. This study demonstrates that several "macrophage-like" cell lines derived from v-Ha-ras-transformed pre-B cells have gained the capacity to effectively present antigen in MHC-restricted fashion. Using an assay involving the cocultivation of putative antigen-presenting cells with chicken ovalbumin (cOVA) and a cOVA-specific T-cell hybridoma, "lineage switch" cell lines were found to present antigen as effectively as macrophage-containing peritoneal exudates. Neither the original pre-B-cell precursors nor B-cell lymphomas derived from them present antigen. Thus, we have demonstrated that these "lineage switch" macrophages are capable of antigen presentation, a mature differentiated function. While gaining macrophage characteristics, these cells have also rearranged their kappa light-chain immunoglobulin locus, suggesting that macrophage differentiation and immunoglobulin rearrangement are not mutually exclusive processes. The existence of both lymphoid and myeloid characteristics in a cell fully capable of antigen presentation suggests greater plasticity in hematopoietic lineage commitment than conventionally thought to be the case.
Bretz
J D
JD
Department of Microbiology, Michigan State University, East Lansing 48824-1101.
Chen
S C
SC
Redenius
D
D
Chang
H L
HL
Esselman
W J
WJ
Schwartz
R C
RC
D000818:Animals; D017951:Antigen Presentation / Q000502:physiology*; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000502:physiology*; D001483:Base Sequence; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000502:physiology*; D002461:Cell Line, Transformed; D011905:Genes, ras; D000949:Histocompatibility Antigens Class II / Q000096:biosynthesis; D017493:Leukocyte Common Antigens / Q000096:biosynthesis; D008264:Macrophages / Q000502:physiology*; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008819:Mice, Nude; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
D000949:Histocompatibility Antigens Class II; D017493:Leukocyte Common Antigens