Establishment of tuberculous antigen-specific T cell line and its effect on hepatic granuloma formation in BCG-infected nude mice.

Abstract

We established tuberculin-active peptide (TAP)-reactive T cell-line, by repeating cycles of antigen-stimulation and resting culture, from the popliteal lymph node of BALB/cA nu/+ mice immunized with Freund's complete adjuvant containing Mycobacterium tuberculosis strain Aoyama B.Surface phenotype of anti-TAP and anti-SV T cell lines was determined as Thy1.2+, Lyt1.2+, L3T4+, and Lyt2- by flow cytometry. They produced IL-2 assessed by [3H]-thymidine incorporation of CTLL-2, and also produced MIF assessed by the indirect capillary tube method. T cell lines exhibited the delayed-type footpad response by a local passive transfer. Anti-TAP T cell line could produce hepatic granulomas 2 weeks after adoptive transfer via the tail or the portal vein to BCG-infected nude mice, but recipients of anti-SV T cell line and controls without cell transfer did not. From the observation of the tissue section of these mice, granulomas were also produced in the splenic white pulps of mice which developed hepatic granulomas. This findings suggested that a portion of transferred lined T cells had homed and functioned in the lymphoid tissues.