title: Constitutive production of a unique lymphokine (IL 3) by the WEHI-3 cell line.
abstract: It has been recently demonstrated that conditioned media from Con A-stimulated splenocyte cultures contain a novel lymphokine termed IL 3. IL 3 is characterized by its ability to induce 20-alpha-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase in spleen cells from young nu/nu mice. In search of a convenient source for biochemical and in vivo studies of this lymphokine, a number of established murine cell lines were screened for the constitutive and induced production of Il 3. It was found that WEHI-3 cells, originally designated as a myelomonocyte cell line, produced high levels of IL 3 constitutively. Added mitogen and/or phorbol acetate did not enhance the production of IL 3. Production of IL 3 varied among various sublines of WEHI-3. IL 3 purified from WEHI-3-conditioned media has biochemical and biologic characteristics identical to those obtained from Con A-conditioned media. WEHI-3 conditioned media, however, generally contained 100-fold higher levels of IL 3 than conditioned media from Con A-stimulated splenic lymphocytes.
mesh_terms: D015089:20-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenases / Q000096:biosynthesis; D000818:Animals; D000954:Antigens, Surface / Q000276:immunology; D002460:Cell Line; D007376:Interleukin-2 / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology; D007377:Interleukin-3; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D008222:Lymphokines / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008811:Mice, Inbred DBA; D008819:Mice, Nude; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D018800:Thy-1 Antigens
chemical_list: D000954:Antigens, Surface; D007376:Interleukin-2; D007377:Interleukin-3; D008222:Lymphokines; D018800:Thy-1 Antigens; D015089:20-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenases