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The cytolysis of 3H-proline-labelled tumour cells growing in monolayer by syngeneic immune lymphocytes has been studied in the murine sarcoma virus (MSV) system. Results show that the proline assay (PA) is a convenient way to reveal the activity of cytolytic T lymphocytes against FMR-like antigens. Using the same effector and target cells, the classical chromium-release test (CRT) fails to reveal any cytolytic activity, and the visual microcytotoxicity assay as well as several derived isotopic methods are known to reveal mainly non-specific reactions due to non-T effector cells. The PA, therefore, appears to be a useful method for testing an antitumour reaction against tumour cells in monolayer. The results are, however, different from those obtained in the CRT using the same effector cells but lymphoma cells in suspension as targets, the major discrepancies being the following: (a) the PA does not provide truly quantitative data, due to the very high lymphoid: effector cell ratios needed in this test; (b) unexpected patterns of antigenic specificities are sometimes detected in PA; (c) a non-specific natural killer activity of non-T cells is frequently detected in the PA, masking at low lymphoid: target cell ratios the T-dependent specific cytolysis; (d) the H-2 restriction of the cytolytic T-cell activity is poorly detected in PA, whereas the role of H-2 antigens is clearly shown by blocking experiments using anti-H-2 antibodies.

It was demonstrated previously that the cytolysis of murine viral lymphoma cells by anti-murine sarcoma virus (MSV) syngeneic T-killer lymphocytes was restricted by some products of the H-2 complex. The respective role of the products of different regions of the H-2 complex were studied with six H-2(b) and three H-2(d) lymphomas induced by five different type C viruses. They were tested in a classical chromium release test against anti-MSV T-killer cells obtained from different inbred strains of mice, including several H-2 recombinants. Tumors o pound the H-2(b) haplotype were lysed only when effectors and target cells have in common the D(b) region. On the contrary an identity limited to the K end of the H-2 complex is necessary and sufficient in the H-2(d) haplotype. An in vitro restimulation of the spleen cells with concanavalin A strongly increased the activity of in vivo-primed T lymphocytes but did not provide any response for in vivo-primed but nonresponder cells. Preincubation of the tumor cells with anti-H-2 sera abolished the lysis by syngeneic anti-MSV effector lymphocytes. The same results were obtained by preincubating the H-2(b) targets with anti-H-2D(b), or the H-2(d) target with anti-H-2K(d). Preincubation with anti-H-2K(b) or anti- H-2D(d) were ineffective. These results show that the T-killer/target cells interaction in the MSV system involved some products of the H-2 complex which might be different with the various H-2 haplotypes and could possibly vary according to the antigenic specificity. A specific association of a viral product with a normal cellular structure, directed by the H-2 region during the viral budding could explain the observed results.