Interleukin-2 induction of hapten-specific cytolytic T cells in nude mice.
In light of i) increasing evidence that the thymus guides the development and antigen recognition repertoire of cytotoxic T cells (CTL) and ii) the capacity of purified interleukin 2 (IL-2) to allow for the in vitro generation of CTL from nude mice, we investigated the ability of IL-2 to influence the in vitro generation of hapten-specific cytotoxicity from nude mouse spleen cell cultures. We found that stimulation of nude mouse splenocytes with trinitrophenol (TNP)-derivatized autologous or allogeneic spleen cells in the presence of IL-2 generated hapten-specific CTL. EFfector cells harvested from IL-2-supplemented cultures killed only TNP-derivatized target cells; however, the cytotoxicity observed was not restricted to a particular target histocompatibility type. This study confirms our previous observations that IL-2 has the capacity to induce growth of CTL from pre-T cell populations in the total absence of thymic influence. However, it is clear that the generation of H-2 restricted killing (recognition and lysis of cells bearing antigen presented solely in association with "self" H-2) probably requires further processing of pre-killer T cell populations by a thymus-derived differentiation signal. In addition, these studies provide further evidence that a major role of the thymus, in addition to programming effector T cell antigen recognition repertoire, may be its function to provide essential differentiation of the IL-2 producer T cell.
D000818:Animals; D000961:Antilymphocyte Serum / Q000494:pharmacology; D003165:Complement System Proteins; D003602:Cytotoxicity, Immunologic; D006183:H-2 Antigens / Q000276:immunology; D006241:Haptens; D007376:Interleukin-2 / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008222:Lymphokines / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008819:Mice, Nude / Q000276:immunology*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D014301:Trinitrobenzenes / Q000276:immunology
D000961:Antilymphocyte Serum; D006183:H-2 Antigens; D006241:Haptens; D007376:Interleukin-2; D008222:Lymphokines; D014301:Trinitrobenzenes; D003165:Complement System Proteins