Continuous cytotoxic T-cell lines.

Abstract

Recently, it was reported that it was possible to maintain normal human T lymphocytes in continuous exponential proliferative culture with the aid of a T-cell growth factor (TCGF) derived from lectin-stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (Morgan et al., 1976; Ruscetti et al., 1977). Subsequently, we (Gillis and Smith, 1977; Gillis et al., 1978a; Baker et al., 1979) and others (Rosenberg et al., 1978; Strausser and Rosenberg, 1978; Nabholz et al., 1978) found that antigen-specific cytolytic T cells could be selected, maintained, and cloned in the presence of TCGF (IL2).* The discovery that such cytolytic T-lymphocyte lines (CTLL) were completely dependent upon TCGF (IL2) for their growth allowed for the development of a rapid, sensitive microassay for this mitogenic factor (Gillis et al., 1978b). This development, in turn, provided the means to perform detailed experimentation directed toward a definition of the biochemical and biological characteristics of TCGF(IL2). The results of these experiments, summarized in this chapter, suggest that the ability to culture functional monoclonal T cells will provide the means leading to an increased understanding of the T-cell immune response, in much the same way that the ability to culture immunoglobulin-secreting plasmacytoma cells has contributed to our understanding of the B-cell immune response.KeywordsConditioned MediumMixed Lymphocyte CultureRetard Tumor GrowthMurine Spleen CellSyngeneic Tumor CellThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.