Interleukin 7 enhances cytolytic T lymphocyte generation and induces lymphokine-activated killer cells from human peripheral blood.

The effects of purified recombinant interleukin 7 (IL-7) on the generation of cytolytic T lymphocytes (CTL) in mixed lymphocyte culture (MLC) and on the induction of lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cells in autologous cultures of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells were investigated. IL-7 was found to induce the generation of both CTL and LAK cells in bulk cultures. The appearance of peak CTL activity in MLC established with exogenous IL-7 was delayed in comparison with replicate cultures containing exogenous IL-2, but both cytokines stimulated quantitatively similar levels of antigen-specific lytic activity. An IL-2-neutralizing antiserum inhibited substantially, but not completely, the effect of IL-7 on CTL generation, implying the existence of both an indirect component of IL-7 activity via IL-2 utilization, as well as an IL-2-independent component. Cell surface phenotypic analysis of IL-2- or IL-7-generated CTL effector cells revealed that CD8+ cells were responsible for the vast majority of lytic activity. Limiting dilution analysis (LDA) revealed that essentially identical frequencies of CTL precursors (CTL-P) were capable of clonal expansion and/or differentiation in the presence of exogenous IL-2, IL-4, or IL-7, supporting the concept that all three of these cytokines are capable of exerting a major influence on T cell growth and differentiation. Approximately half of the CTL-P that responded in IL-7-supplemented LDA cultures did so in an IL-2-independent manner. IL-7 stimulated the development of LAK cells in autologous bulk cultures, but only weakly in comparison with IL-2. In contrast to its effects on CTL generation, the induction of LAK cells by IL-7 was virtually independent of IL-2. LAK cells induced by IL-7, like those induced by IL-2, were phenotypically heterogeneous and included CD8+, CD56+, and gamma/delta+ cells. Limiting dilution analysis indicated that IL-2 stimulated fivefold more LAK-P than IL-7 and 220-fold more than IL-4. Collectively, these data suggest that IL-7 has potent regulatory effects on human cytolytic cell populations and, either alone or in combination with other cytokines, could be important for the in vitro expansion of cells for adoptive immunotherapy.

Engineering proteins for purification.

Over the past decade, a new protein purification technique has emerged as a result of recombinant DNA technology. DNA, encoding additional polypeptide or protein tags, is fused to the gene of interest. Expression of these gene fusions results in protein fusions which may be purified by techniques using the properties of the additional polypeptide tag. This has eliminated the need for extensive screening and optimization procedures previously required for purification.

Functional studies of bovine alveolar neutrophils elicited with recombinant bovine IL-1 beta.

Bovine rIL-1 beta (rbIL-1 beta) was instilled intrabronchially into the lungs of steers to elicit harvestable alveolar neutrophils for functional analysis. Before instillation, bronchoalveolar lavage samples from the steers consisted of 96.4 +/- 1.5% (mean +/- SEM) macrophages, with the remaining cells neutrophils and occasional lymphocytes. Four hours after instillation of 1.0 and 10.0 nmol of IL-1, the lavage samples consisted of 96.3 +/- 0.8% and 91.0 +/- 5.7% neutrophils, respectively. Alveolar neutrophils elicited with rbIL-1 beta and challenged with the calcium ionophore, A23187, released similar amounts of leukotriene B4 (LTB4) and its nonenzymatic isomer LTB I, and significantly greater amounts of 5-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid and the nonenzymatic isomer LTB II, when compared with circulating neutrophils. The rbIL-1 beta did not, by itself, stimulate release of arachidonate metabolites from circulating neutrophils in quantities that were detectable by HPLC. Circulating neutrophils, preincubated with rbIL-1 beta and stimulated with A23187, released significantly greater amounts of 5-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid and total 5-lipoxygenase metabolites when compared with control cells not incubated with rbIL-1 beta. Incubation of circulating neutrophils with rbIL-1 beta and A23187 concurrently resulted in a significantly increased release of all 5-lipoxygenase metabolites of arachidonate. However, both the release of superoxide anion and bacterial killing by rbIL-1 beta-elicited bovine alveolar neutrophils did not differ from the values obtained for circulating neutrophils.

Regulation of human T cell proliferation by IL-7.

The regulation of human T cell proliferation by rIL-7 was investigated. Purified peripheral blood T cells were stimulated to proliferate in a short-term assay by IL-7 in the presence of CD3 mAb or lectin. This stimulation was accompanied by a significant increase in the expression of IL-2R on both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells over that seen with mitogen alone. The proliferation of these cells in the presence of exogenous IL-7 involved both IL-2-dependent and - independent mechanisms as shown by the ability of neutralizing IL-2 antibody to partially inhibit the response. Anti-IL-4 and anti-IL-6 antibodies had no effect on IL-7-induced T cell growth. These results suggest that the costimulatory effect of IL-7 on human T cells is primarily direct, not involving other intermediate T cell growth factors. IL-7 was also found to be mitogenic in a long-term assay in the absence of any costimulus, with the onset of proliferation occurring later than that seen in the presence of mitogen. These results demonstrate that IL-7 provides a potent T cell stimulus either alone or in the presence of co-mitogen and, although this stimulus is accompanied by an increase in the level of IL-2R expression, it is not dependent on the action of IL-2 for its effect.

Improved survival and leukocyte reconstitution without detrimental effects on engraftment in murine recipients of human recombinant granulocyte colony-stimulating factor after transplantation of T-cell-depleted histoincompatible bone marrow.

In vivo administration of human recombinant granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (rG-CSF) was evaluated for effects on survival, hematologic recovery, and engraftment in an allogeneic murine bone marrow transplantation (BMT) model involving T-cell depletion. Post-BMT recipients of continuous subcutaneous infusions of rG-CSF (n = 62) for 14 days had a significant survival advantage compared with post-BMT controls (n = 60) that received phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) infusions. Moreover, recipients of rG-CSF had significantly increased numbers of circulating leukocytes on days 7 and 14 post-BMT. Engraftment was not adversely affected. Administration of rG-CSF after transplantation of T-cell-depleted histoincompatible bone marrow benefits survival and leukocyte recovery without compromising engraftment.

Interleukin-3, GM-CSF, and G-CSF receptor expression on cell lines and primary leukemia cells: receptor heterogeneity and relationship to growth factor responsiveness.

Recombinant human granulocyte-macrophage (GM) colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), G-CSF, and interleukin-3 (IL-3) labeled with 125I were used to study the characteristics and distribution of receptors for these factors on in vitro cell lines and on cells from patients with acute nonlymphocytic leukemia (ANL) and acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL). Receptors for GM-CSF and G-CSF were restricted to a subset of myelomonocytic cell lines whereas IL-3 receptors were also found on pre-B- or early B-cell lines. Receptors for all three CSFs were broadly distributed on ANL cells, with considerable variability in levels of expression. Measurement of the colony-forming ability of ANL cells in response to the CSFs showed that there was no direct correlation between the ability of the cells to respond to a growth factor and the absolute number of receptors expressed for that growth factor. Binding of radiolabeled IL-3 and GM-CSF to ANL cells produced complex biphasic curves. Further analysis showed that both IL-3 and GM-CSF were able to partially compete for specific binding of the heterologous radiolabeled ligand to cells from several ANL patients, suggesting that heterogeneity may exist in human CSF receptors. These results provide new insights into the complex role that CSFs may play in ANL.

Regulation of cytolytic cell populations from human peripheral blood by B cell stimulatory factor 1 (interleukin 4).

The effects of B cell stimulatory factor 1 (BSF-1) on the generation of human CTL and lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cells in vitro were investigated. Both L-2 and BSF-1 were potent helper factors for the generation of antigen-specific CTL in MLC; detection of optimal BSF-1-induced CTL activity in this system occurred when BSF-1 was added to cultures after an initial period of activation during which exogenous BSF-1 was not present. In contrast to IL-2, BSF-1 failed to induce an LAK cell population, as detected with Daudi tumor targets, in cultures that had not been allosensitized. Furthermore, when both lymphokines were added together at culture initiation, BSF-1 inhibited the IL-2-driven generation of cytolytic cells. The differential ability of BSF-1 to promote the generation of CTL but not LAK could have important implications for lymphokine-mediated immunotherapy.

Characterization of the human B cell stimulatory factor 1 receptor.

125I-labeled recombinant human B cell stimulatory factor 1 (BSF-1) was used to characterize receptors specific for this lymphokine on in vitro cell lines representing human B, T, and hematopoietic lineages, as well as on adherent cell lines of epithelial and endothelial origin, and on primary human gingival fibroblasts. BSF-1 binding was extremely rapid and saturable at both 4 and 37 degrees C, with a slow dissociation rate. On all human cell types examined, BSF-1 bound to a single class of high-affinity receptor (less than 3,000 receptors per cell) with a Ka of 0.5-1.0 X 10(10)/M. Human BSF-1 also bound to cell lines of simian but not murine origin. Comparison of kinetic characteristics obtained with a yeast-derived hyperglycosylated form of BSF-1 (Mr 60,000) and N-glycanase-treated, sugar-free BSF-1 (Mr 15,000) showed no significant differences. Among a panel of lymphokines and growth hormones, only unlabeled human BSF-1 was able to compete for the binding of 125I-labeled human BSF-1. Affinity crosslinking experiments resulted in the identification on both Raji cells and on primary human gingival fibroblasts of a receptor subunit with an average Mr of 139,000. These studies show that the BSF-1 receptor on human cells has an extremely broad cellular distribution, while further supporting the notion that the ability of BSF-1 to mediate a spectrum of biological activities cannot be accounted for by overt differences in the receptor for this lymphokine on different cell lineages.

Chemical synthesis and cloning of a poly(arginine)-coding gene fragment designed to aid polypeptide purification.

A 43-bp DNA duplex coding for poly(arginine) [poly(arg)] has been synthesised by modified phosphotriester procedures. It has been inserted into the Bg/II and BamHI restriction sites of a cloned synthetic beta-urogastrone (Uro) gene, under the control of the trp promoter. Subsequent induction with 3 beta-indole acrylic acid produces beta-Uro with a C-terminal poly(arg) fusion. The raised isoelectric point of this polypeptide fusion facilitates rapid purification by cation exchange chromatography. The C-terminal poly(arg) tail can be readily removed by treatment with carboxypeptidase B.