The surface morphology of human B lymphocytes as revealed by immunoelectron microscopy.

Surface immunoglobulins (sIg) were detected on human lymphocytes by immunoelectron microscopy with peroxidase-conjugated antibodies. Blood, marrow, and thymus cells from normal individuals and patients with lymphoproliferative disorders were examined. Samples were fixed before exposure to specific reagents. Normal lymphocyts with detectable sIg, i.e. B lymphocytes, were characterized by a villous surface; nonlabeled blood lymphocytes and thymocytes were smooth cells. Intermediate cells were also found which in sections appeared moderately villous and labeled, thus identified as B lymphocytes. Further evidence for a relationship between villous surface and sIg was given by the finding of a few lymphocytes with polar concentration of labeled microvilli. In chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients, most cells exhibited a villous surface with parallel variations of the number of microvilli and of anti-immunoglobulin-binding capacity. However, some labeled smooth blastic cells were also observed. On the other hand, abnormal lymphocytes from Sézary's syndrome which could exhibit segments of villous membrane had no detectable sIg. This study confirms that in most cases human B lymphocytes have a characteristic surface appearance and that the detection of sIg in normal lymphocytes correlates with the presence of microvilli.

Clonal T-cell colony formation in agar culture: an attractive assay to test the T-cell depletion from bone marrow.

Current studies suggest that the depletion of T-lymphocytes from donor marrow is an effective method for preventing acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation in man. To deplete the T-lymphocytes from bone marrow cells we use either monoclonal anti-T-cell antibodies and complement or T101 ricin A-chain immunotoxin. Residual T-lymphocytes are analyzed by their capacity to form clonal T-cell colonies in the presence of phytohemagglutinin (PHA), accessory cells, and recombinant interleukin 2. The method is compared to immediate indirect immunofluorescence (iF) and thymidine incorporation by marrow cells stimulated by PHA. IF is not suitable for evaluating the depletion by immunotoxin, and the interpretation of thymidine incorporation is generally questionable. The results of the colony formation show that the sensitivity of the colony assay is close to that of iF when T cells are depleted by complement lysis, and the sensitivity of the colony assay is not dependent upon the depletion procedure. Therefore, the T-cell colony assay is a simple functional control for the quality of bone marrow T-cell depletion, especially for T-cell depletion by immunotoxin.

Activation by PHA of CD8 lymphocytes into clonal colony forming cells. Role of interleukin-1.

Monoclonal T cell colonies can be grown in agar culture from quiescent T lymphocytes under PHA stimulation, provided that (1) a low number of T lymphocytes (less than or equal to 5 X 10(4)/ml) is seeded, (2) IL-2 is added to the culture, and (3) a high number of accessory B cells (greater than or equal to 5 X 10(5)/ml) is present in contact with the T lymphocytes. Under these culture conditions the colony progenitors can be ascribed to the CD4 subset, whereas CD8 lymphocytes do not generate colonies. This finding is surprising since both CD4 and CD8 lymphocytes may be cloned in liquid culture. We now report the appropriate conditions required to grow cytotoxic CD8 lymphocyte colonies in agar. CD8 colony growth is dependent upon IL-2-IL-2 receptor interaction and is inhibited by anti-IL-2 receptor antibodies. In addition to PHA, accessory B cells and IL-2, an additional signal provided by recombinant IL-1 is necessary for CD8 colony formation. Exogenous IL-1 can be replaced by irradiated CD4 lymphocytes which stimulate the expression of membrane IL-1 activity in the accessory B cells. In addition, colony growth from quiescent but not preactivated CD8 lymphocytes is inhibited by anti-IL-1 antibodies. Altogether, the data show that an IL-1 signal is required for the induction of IL-2 responsive IL-2 receptors on quiescent CD8 colony forming cells.

Expression of an accessory cell phenotype by hairy cells during lymphocyte colony formation in agar culture.

Human T lymphocytes require the cooperation of accessory cells to generate lymphocyte colonies in agar culture under PHA stimulation. Various hairy cell enriched fractions, as well as normal monocytes, have been found to be able to initiate colony formation by normal lymphocytes. Leukemic monocytes from CMML patients were also effective, but not the leukemic lymphocytes from CLL patients. The phenotype expressed by HC in agar colonies was further studied using cell surface and enzymatic markers. We have concluded that HC in agar culture in the presence of both normal T lymphocytes and PHA lose the B phenotype that they express in vivo and function like an accessory cell in contrast to normal or leukemic B lymphocytes.

Inhibition of transferring binding and iron uptake of hematopoietic cell lines by phorbol esters.

Phorbol esters inhibit cell growth and the binding of transferrin to receptors on K 562, HL 60 and U 937 human leukemic cell lines. Exposure of these cells to 12-0-tetradecanoyl phorbol-13-acetate (TPA) at 37 degrees C results in a 40% reduction of the specific binding of 125I-transferrin, which is apparent within 15 min. Half-maximal inhibition occurs at about 1 nM. Other tumor promoting phorbol esters also inhibit 125I-transferrin binding in a dose-dependent manner which parallels their known promoting activity in vivo. TPA reduces the number of transferrin receptors, and does not alter the degradation or the internalization of transferrin. In addition, TPA inhibits iron uptake by these cell lines. These effects are specific, since phorbol esters do not affect either cell growth or the binding of transferrin to Friend erythroleukemia cells and Raji cell line. On the basis of these findings it is suggested that the inhibition of transferrin binding may represent one of the mechanisms by which phorbol esters affect the growth and the differentiation of hematopoietic cell lines.

Detection of surface immunoglobulins of human lymphoid cells: a comparative study of live and fixed cells using a direct immunoperoxidase procedure.

Surface immunoglobulins (Ig) of normal and malignant lymphoid cells were detected on prefixed, smeared (method A) and live (method B) cell suspensions; the results were compared with regard to staining patterns, specificity and sensitivity. In both methods surface Ig were detected by a direct immunoperoxidase procedure using conjugated purified antibody. Although method A has practical advantages, method B is more sensitive. The reasons for this discrepancy are discussed in relation to surface Ig denaturation and redistribution.

Immunoperoxidase staining of surface and intracellular immunoglobulin in human neoplastic lymphoid cells.

An immunoperoxidase technique for the optical microscopic detection of cellular immunoglobulin has been used to stain fixed smears of human neoplastic B lymphoid cells. Only four out of 28 cases of chronic lymphatic leukaemia (CLL) showed membrane labelling by this technique. In contrast, when 14 samples from other types of B lymphoproliferative disorder (including hairy cell leukaemia, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and prolymphocytic leukaemia) were studied, all samples showed membrane immunoglobulin labelling (confirmed by capping experiments). This discrepancy was attributed to the greater density of surface immunoglobulin present on neoplastic cells in the latter group of disorders compared to CLL. This immunoperoxidase technique is therefore less sensitive than immunofluorescent staining of cells in suspension for the demonstration of neoplastic cell surface immunoglobulin. However, it offers a number of advantages (eg, excellent visualisation of cell morphology, permanence of stained preparations, and applicability to stored samples) which recommend it as the method of choice in certain clinical haematological contexts.

The ultrastructural localization of immunoglobulins in human b cells of immunoproliferative diseases.

The cellular distribution of immunoglobulins in human malignant and normal B cells was investigated by immunoelectron microscopy by direct incubation of fixed cells with electron microscopy by direct incubation of fixed cells with peroxidase-coupled antibody. These conjugates penetrated into the cell, resulting in the simultaneous detection of surface and cytoplasmic immunoglobulins. The latter were seen as specific intracisternal staining of the perinuclear space and endoplasmic reticulum and occasionally of the Golgi complex. Plasma cells were frequently characterized by a heterogeneity of reactivity of the endoplasmic reticulum. Minute amounts of cytoplasmic immunoglobulin were demonstrated in cells without developed secretory organelles, such as lymphoma cells and lymphocytes from chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). The method allowed us to define several subsets of cells according to the expression of surface and cytoplasmic immunoglobulins and thus to determine the stage of maturation of cells involved in monoclonal proliferation.

Phenotype study with monoclonal antibodies of T lymphocyte colonies in normal individuals and in patients with chronic OKT8+ lymphocytic leukaemia.

The lymphocyte colony forming capacity of peripheral blood mononuclear cells from normal controls and from two patients with chronic OKT8+ lymphocytic leukaemia was determined in agar culture under PHA stimulation. The number and size of the colonies in patients were reduced compared to normal. The lymphocytic phenotype of colony cells was studied with monoclonal antibodies in colonies harvested from agar culture and in colonies expanded in liquid culture in the presence of TCGF. This study was performed in individual colonies and in pooled colonies. Colonies from normal controls contained a mixture of the OKT4+ and OKT8+ lymphocyte subsets. In contrast, colonies from the two patients contained essentially OKT4+ lymphocytes. The data indicate that, in the patients, progenitors of the OKT8+ subset are unresponsive to normal proliferative and/or differentiative stimuli under the present culture conditions.

Inhibition of insulin receptor binding by phorbol esters.

Phorbol esters inhibit the binding of insulin to its receptors on U-937 monocyte-like and HL-60 promyelocytic leukemia human cell lines. Within 20-30 min, exposure of these cells to 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate (TPA) at 37 degrees C results in a 50% reduction of the specific binding of 125I-insulin. Half-maximal inhibition occurs at 1 nM TPA. Other tumor-promoting phorbol esters also inhibit 125I-insulin binding in a dose-dependent manner which parallels their known promoting activity in vivo. TPA does not alter the degradation of the hormone nor does it induce any shedding of its receptors in the medium. The effect of phorbol esters is dependent on temperature and cell type. It is less prominent at 22 degrees C than at 37 degrees C. It is reversible within 2 h at 37 degrees C. TPA reduces the binding of insulin predominantly by increasing its dissociation rate. This effect results in an accelerated turnover of the hormone on its receptors.

Synthesis of a peroxidase activity by the cells of hairy cell leukemia: a study by ultrastructural cytochemistry.

The nature of cells present in the blood, marrow, and spleen of patients with hairy cell leukemia is largely debated. These cells have been tentatively categorized on the basis of either monocytic or lymphocytic markers, and the accumulating data points to the fact that they share some characteristics of both cell types. Although hairy cells are known to lack myeloperoxidase-positive granules, present in normal human monocytes, we investigated the possible presence of other peroxidase activities differing from the granule-bound myeloperoxidase. The study was carried out with several methods based on the incubation of fixed and unfixed cells in the presence of diaminobenzidine and hydrogen peroxide. A peroxidase activity was found in hairy cells, located always in the endoplasmic reticulum but not in the Golgi apparatus or in any granule. By its cytochemical characteristics it appears to be closely related to that of tissue macrophages, activated blood monocytes, and other nonlymphocytic hematopoietic cells. This peroxidase is not found in lymphocytes with B or T phenotypes.

Immunoelectron microscopy and immunocytochemistry in pathology, with special reference to immunoglobulin-producing cells.

The advantage of immunoelectron microscopy (immuno-EM) is that it allows the simultaneous detection of surface and internal cell components. The immunoperoxidase method is often more suitable than immunoferritin. There are no major difficulties in staining surface antigens by immuno-EM, provided sufficient amounts of pure antibodies are available for coupling to peroxidase. Prior fixation of cells, with faxatives that preserve the antigenicity of surface components, avoids ligand-induced alterations of the surface components. It is believed that, unlike the surface, intracellular antigens are difficult to stain by immuno-EM because of the poor penetration of conjugates into fixed cells; thus, various technical approaches have been proposed by workers involved in tissue immuno-EM. In fact, the method that we initially devised for the surface staining of fixed cell suspensions has proved to detect specifically intracellular immunoglobulins in B cells obtained from patients with proliferative diseases. Thus, conjugates do penetrate into fixed cells, although by an unknown mechanism. On this basis, it is possible to study both surface and intracellular immunoglobulins at the EM level and to determine the precise localization synthesis.

[Morphologic criteria of surface studies by electron microscopy and classification of lymphoproliferative syndromes. Critical study]. / Critères morphologiques de surfaces étudiés en microscopie électronique et classification des syndromes lymphoprolifératifs. Etude critique

Surface associated immunoglobulins (s.Ig) have been detected on human lymphocytes, in normal individuals and in disease, by an immunoelectron microscopic method using peroxidase-labeled antibodies. Experiments have been carried out on fixed cell suspensions, in order to avoid membrane alterations induced by anti-immunoglobulin antibodies. Normal human blood B lymphocytes have a villous surface. However this relationship between microvilli and detectable s.Ig, as found in the normal state, is not confirmed by examinating various T and B cell proliferative states. Thus surface morphology alone is not sufficient for classifying cells in disease. The precise nature of mononuclear cells from hairy cell leukemia remains nuclear.

Heterogeneous accessory cell requirement for human peripheral blood T lymphocyte activation by PHA into IL-2-responsive colony-forming cells.

Mitogen-driven T cell proliferation in liquid culture requires accessory cells that cooperate in interleukin 2 production. We have investigated the accessory cell requirement for human lymphocyte colony formation under PHA stimulation. Semisolid medium limits cell-to-cell contact emphasizing the role of cooperating cells both in growth factor production and in triggering events. Culturing at high T cell density demonstrates that accessory cells can be substituted for colony formation by exogenous IL-2. Culturing at low T cell density in the presence of IL-2 also demonstrates that accessory cells are required for activation of a subset of progenitors into IL-2 responsive colony-forming cells. Consequently, T colony progenitors, contained in the E-rosetting cell fraction of peripheral blood, are heterogeneous in their triggering signals: a minor subset is directly inducible by PHA, and a major subset is inducible by PHA in the presence of accessory cells. We found that monocytes and some leukemic B cells support effective accessory function in both colony growth factor production and colony progenitor sensitization.

Unusual intracytoplasmic immunoglobulin inclusions in chronic lymphocytic leukaemia.

Unusual intracytoplasmic immunoglobulin inclusions were found by immunofluorescence in three patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia. The inclusions contained the same immunoglobulin chains as those detected on the plasma membrane, except for delta chains which were expressed on the cell surface and not in the cytoplasmic inclusions. The cytoplasmic staining persisted throughout culture for 8 or more days. An initial study of patients 1's cells showed that the inclusions contained only mu chains, and kappa chains gradually became apparent after in vitro culture. In a second study, the fresh lymphocytes contained both mu and and kappa chains. Initially, biosynthetic experiments showed production of mu chains which polymerized in the cytoplasm and were not secreted. Subsequently there was synthesis of heavy and light chains which assembled into monomeric subunits that were retained and secretion of free light chains. The apparent molecular weight of these immunoglobulin chains was larger than that of their secretory counterparts. Immunoelectronmicroscopy revealed cytoplasmic mu chains in strands of endoplasmic reticulum. In the two other patients, immunofluorescence displayed unusual staining patterns of bright networks in perinuclear areas.

Acute blast crisis in a patient with chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Immunoperoxidase study.

Using a case study of a blastic crisis supervening on chronic lymphocytic leukemia, we were able to determine that the cells in question were B cells derived from the same clone by using immunofluorescence and immunoperoxidase techniques. The immunoperoxidase technique provided excellent morphological details and enhanced the phenotype study.

[Application of the immunoperoxidase method to the study of the membrane of human lymphocytes]. / Application de la méthode de l'immunoperoxydase a l'étude de la membrane des lymphocytes humains

Immunoelectron microscopy was applied to human lymphocytes exposed to purified peroxidase-conjugated anti-immunoglobulin. Indeed, detectable surface immunoglobulins are a salient feature of so-called " B " lymphocytes. On living cells, a rapid and massive internatization of the labelled membrane is observed. Prior glutaraldehyde cell fixation avoids such a phenomenon. Thus, exposure of fixed cells to conjugated anti-immunoglobulin allows the visualization of a dense and continuous specific membrane labelling. Immunoglobulin-bearing lymphocytes have a characteristic membrane surrounded with numerous microvilli. On the other hand, non-labelled lymphocytes have a smooth membrane. Intermediate forms are also noted among these extreme morphological features.

[The presence of an endogenous peroxidase activity in hairy cell leukemia cells]. / Présence d'une activité péroxydasique endogène dans les cellules de leucémies à tricholeucocytes

Mononuclear cells from hairy cell leukemia have been studied in three cases by ultrastructural immunocytochemistry. Cells have fairly detectable surface immunoglobulins, without monoclonal distribution however. In addition these cells have a peroxidatic activity which is revealed in the perinuclear space and strands of endoplasmic reticulum.