title: Specificity, T cell receptor diversity and activation requirements of CD4+ and CD8+ clones derived from human melanoma-infiltrating lymphocytes.
abstract: To try to understand the functional significance of human melanoma-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL), a clonal analysis of the specificity, T cell receptor (TcR) diversity and activation requirements of these lymphocytes isolated from four different tumors was carried out. Supporting the presence of in vivo primed tumor-specific T lymphocytes in these four tumors, a high frequency of the Cd8+ and CD4+ clones, obtained from the TIL cultured for a few days with recombinant interleukin (rIL)-2 and autologous tumor cells, exhibited a restricted lysis or proliferation in response to the autologous tumor cell line. In contrast, no tumor-specific clone was obtained from freshly extracted TIL, suggesting that the frequency of tumor-specific effectors remained low in these tumors. Only the CD8+ clones lysed the autologous tumor cells and their activity was major histocompatibility complex MHC class I restricted. Significant expansion of CD4+ and CD8+ tumor-specific clones required regular restimulation by autologous melanoma cells but also the addition of exogenous IL-2 and of Epstein-Barr virus-transformed B feeder cells. Five different tumor-specific clones, three CD8+ and two CD4+ clones were identified in a single tumor on the basis of their TcR gene configuration. Together, these data suggest that a spontaneous and diverse immune response, mediated by tumor-specific CD4+ as well as CD8+ T lymphocytes, arises in most MHC-bearing human melanomas but that antigen-MHC complex presentation by tumor cells does not, at least in vitro, allow a significant proliferation of these lymphocytes.
authors.affiliation: Unité 211 INSERM, Faculté des Sciences de Nantes, France.
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Pandolfino
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Viret
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Gervois
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Guilloux
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Davodeau
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Diez
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Jotereau
mesh_terms: D015704:CD4 Antigens / Q000032:analysis*; D016827:CD8 Antigens / Q000032:analysis*; D002999:Clone Cells; D015395:Histocompatibility Antigens Class I / Q000276:immunology; D000949:Histocompatibility Antigens Class II / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007376:Interleukin-2 / Q000494:pharmacology; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D016246:Lymphocytes, Tumor-Infiltrating / Q000276:immunology*; D008545:Melanoma / Q000276:immunology*; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell / Q000032:analysis*; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
chemical_list: D015704:CD4 Antigens; D016827:CD8 Antigens; D015395:Histocompatibility Antigens Class I; D000949:Histocompatibility Antigens Class II; D007376:Interleukin-2; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell