Molecular analysis of T-cell receptor repertoire in bone marrow transplant recipients: evidence for oligoclonal T-cell expansion in graft-versus-host disease lesions

We have analyzed the T-cell receptor (TCR) V beta repertoire using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in a cohort of eight patients receiving allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT) from related and unrelated donors at the City of Hope. Results of PCR studies from graft-versus- host disease (GVHD) skin lesions show a bias in the usage of TCR V beta families, whereas examination of peripheral blood (PB) withdrawn at the same time did not reveal a similar phenomenon. In one such family, TCR V beta 2 is predominantly expressed in 7 of 7 biopsy specimens examined. V beta 2 TCR expression from these patients was analyzed more extensively using a combination of individual TCR gene cloning, followed by sequence analysis. We found evidence of oligoclonal expansion of single V beta 2-bearing TCRs in GVHD lesions, and in the PB of some patients after diagnosis of GVHD. In contrast, GVHD-negative biopsy samples showed no evidence for clonotypic TCR amplification. Sequence-specific TCR CDR3 region probes were derived from analysis of the predominant expressed TCR in GVHD lesions, and used to probe Southern blots of amplified V beta 2 TCR mRNA from PB and tissue from BMT recipients and their respective donors. In most cases the probes are highly specific in detecting TCR expression from GVHD lesions alone, although in several instances expression could be detected in PB after GVHD diagnosis. These data provide supporting evidence for the hypothesis that acute GVHD is associated with expansion of T-cell clones expressing antigen-specific TCRs that may contribute to the disease pathology.     

Identification of novel K562 membrane proteins that adhere to bone marrow fibroblasts

Adhesion of myeloid leukemia cells to the bone marrow (BM) microenvironment is mediated in part by Beta 1 and Beta 2 integrins. Cells of the erythroleukemia line K562, derived from a patient with chronic myeloid leukemia, bind to BM fibroblasts (BMFs) but the adhesion cannot be accounted for by integrins or other known adhesion proteins including CD44 or members of the Ig or selectin families. Membrane fragments from K562 cells were radioiodinated and allowed to adhere to BMF monolayers. Adherent proteins were solubilized together with the fibroblasts, analyzed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and visualized by autoradiography. Four adherent proteins were consistently observed. Two of these, with reduced molecular weights of 52 kD and 35 to 37 kD, were prominent. Addition of soluble thrombospondin and heparin but not fibronectin inhibited binding of K562 membrane proteins to adherent BMFs and immobilized thrombospondin- and heparin-bound K562 proteins. The 52-kD protein has a multimeric structure nonreduced and has characteristics of a glycoprotein. Its adhesion to fibroblasts is divalent cation and temperature sensitive. The 35- to 37-kD protein, whose function is divalent cation but not temperature sensitive, is phosphoinositol- linked and has characteristics identical to an adherent 35- to 37-kD protein identified on murine progenitor cells. Membrane preparations from two cases of acute myeloid leukemia showed an adherent 35- to 37- kD protein and in one case an adherent 52-kD protein without other adherent bands. A K562 subclone with reduced adherence to BMFs showed reduced amounts of adherent 52-kD and 35- to 37-kD proteins. These proteins may be responsible for the adhesion of malignant and normal hematopoietic progenitor cells to the BM microenvironment.     

Biologic properties in vitro of a recombinant human granulocyte- macrophage colony-stimulating factor

Recombinant human granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (rH GM-CSF) was purified to homogeneity from medium conditioned by COS cells transfected with a cloned human GM-CSF cDNA and shown to be an effective proliferative stimulus in human marrow cultures for GM and eosinophil colony formation. The specific activity of purified rH GM- CSF in human marrow cultures was calculated to be at least 4 X 10(7) U/mg protein. Clone transfer experiments showed that this proliferation was due to direct stimulation of responding clonogenic cells. Acting alone, rH GM-CSF did not stimulate erythroid colony formation, but in combination with erythropoietin, increased erythroid and multipotential colony formation in cultures of peripheral blood cells. rH GM-CSF had no proliferative effects on adult or fetal murine hematopoietic cells, did not induce differentiation in murine myelomonocytic WEHI-3B cells, and was unable to stimulate the survival or proliferation of murine hematopoietic cell lines dependent on murine multi-CSF (IL 3). rH GM- CSF stimulated antibody-dependent cytolysis of tumor cells by both mature human neutrophils and eosinophils and increased eosinophil autofluorescence and phagocytosis by neutrophils. From a comparison of these effects with those of semipurified preparations of human CSF alpha and -beta, it was concluded that rH GM-CSF exhibited all the biologic activities previously noted for CSF alpha.     

TCA: a polymorphic genetic marker in leukemias and melanoma cell lines

TCA (T Cell system A) is a di-allelic system of HLA-like antigens encoded by genes located about 15 cM telomeric to HLA-A. In normal individuals, TCA antigens are only expressed on a subpopulation of T cells, the TG lymphocytes. We now report on the expression of TCA on leukemias and other malignancies. An increased proportion of cells carrying the TCA phenotype was encountered in testing peripheral blood lymphocytes from patients with acute lymphoblastic T-cell leukemia (T- ALL), acute myeloid leukemia (AML), and chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). In contrast, patients with B-cell malignancies such as chronic lymphatic leukemia (CLL) and hairy cell leukemia (HCL) or non-T/non-B common acute lymphoblastic leukemia (common ALL) had normal proportions of TCA-positive lymphocytes. Quantitatively different levels of TCA expression are found on some melanoma cell lines and others are TCA negative. These variations are independent of the expression of HLA Class I antigens by the same cells. The expression of TCA antigens by malignant nonlymphoid cells suggests that this system may code for differentiation markers, important in the biology of neoplastic transformation.