Establishment and characteristics of a T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia cell line, JK-T1, with a chromosomal translocation between 8q24 and 14q13.

A human leukemia cell line, JK-T1, was established from the bone marrow of a 10-year-old boy with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The origin of the leukemic cell line, JK-T1, was demonstrated by its chromosomal and immunologic similarity to the patient's fresh leukemic cells. Karyotypic analysis revealed 46,XY,del(6)(q?),t(8;14)(q24;q13),der(9)t(9;?)(q34;?). In JK-T1, neither rearrangement nor amplification of the c-myc gene was observed apparently because the breakpoint of chromosome 14 was not q11 but q13. JK-T1 was independent of interleukin 2 (IL-2) because of little production of IL-2, little IL-2 receptor (CD25) on the surface, and no response to exogenous IL-2. JK-T1 had lymphocyte function associated antigen-1 (LFA-1) (CD11a, CD18) on its surface and could adhere to the hematologic stromal layer. These characteristics of JK-T1 cell line are considered to be useful not only for evaluating the role of t(8;14) but also in studying the adhesion molecules of leukemia.