title: Type II collagen-specific human T cell lines established from healthy donors.
abstract: Four type II collagen-specific T cell lines established from the peripheral blood of a healthy donor were studied in detail. These CD4+ T cell lines with an alpha/beta T cell receptor proliferated in response to native and denatured human and chicken type II collagen and human type I collagen, but not to human type IV collagen or other potentially arthritogenic antigens. The T cell response showed typical dose response characteristics, peaked between 30 and 48 h, was major histocompatibility complex class II restricted and not due to a mitogenic effect. Type II collagen-reactive T cells could hardly be detected in freshly isolated peripheral blood mononuclear cells from healthy donors, as revealed by limiting dilution analysis (frequency less than 1/100,000). By prestimulation in bulk cultures for 10 days, type II collagen-reactive T cells could be approximately 1000-fold enriched. However, in these limiting dilution cultures, collagen-reactive T cells could only be observed in a narrow window of cell concentrations, suggesting that type II collagen-reactive T cells may be controlled by suppressive mechanisms in healthy persons.
authors.affiliation: Abteilung Rheumatologie und klinische Immunologie, Medizinische Universitätsklinik, Freiburg, FRG.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lacour
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Rudolphi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schlesier
authors.forename: H H
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Peter
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000938:Antigen-Presenting Cells / Q000276:immunology; D002460:Cell Line; D003094:Collagen / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D003094:Collagen