Search

We have analyzed activation of resting human T cells by anti-T cell receptor (TCR) monoclonal antibody (mAb) BMA031, a murine mAb of the G2b isotype. Human peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) respond to anti-TCR mAb by short-term proliferation in vitro and by acquisition of responsiveness to interleukin 2 (rIL-2) in the absence of detectable IL-2 production. Cell depletion and limiting dilution experiments indicate that anti-TCR mAb +/- rIL-2 stimulation covers a substantial portion of human T cells, including CD4+ and CD8+ cells. Enhancement by rIL-2 of anti-TCR mAb-induced proliferation is blocked by anti-IL-2 receptor (IL-2R, p55) mAb, while anti-TCR mAb-induced proliferation is not. In contrast, anti-TCR mAb-induced proliferation is blocked by anti-lymphocyte function antigen 1 (LFA-1, CD11a) mAb and is not demonstrable in PBL from two patients with severe congenital LFA-1 deficiency, not even in the presence of irradiated LFA-1+ PBL. We conclude that stimulation of resting human T cells by anti-TCR mAb BMA031 enables dissociation of distinct steps in T cell activation that specifically require participation of IL-2R (p55) and LFA-1 cell surface molecules in a mutually exclusive way.

Clostridium difficile toxins A and B isolated from strain VPI 10463 were tested for induction of cytokine release by human monocytes. Toxin B at 10(-12) M activated human monocytes as measured by release of interleukin-1 (IL-1), tumor necrosis factor (TNF), or IL-6. These effects of toxin B were heat labile (51 degrees C, 30 min). Toxin B was as effective as bacterial lipopolysaccharides in inducing IL-1 beta but less effective in inducing TNF or IL-6. Toxin B and lipopolysaccharides were synergistic in induction of IL-1 beta, TNF, and IL-6. The toxin A preparation used was 1,000-fold less active than toxin B. Apart from the difference in activity, the two toxins showed identical patterns of reaction and there was no synergism between them. A short pulse with toxin B was sufficient to trigger IL-1 release. Toxin B was also extremely toxic for monocytes. The toxicity and the induced proinflammatory monokines (IL-1 and TNF) may contribute to the pathogenic mechanisms of C. difficile infection and pseudomembranous colitis.

We have previously reported on stimulation of clonal growth of cell lines from human solid tumors by recombinant human interleukin 3, recombinant human granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor, and recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (W. E. Berdel et al., Blood, 73: 80-83, 1989; Exp. Hematol., 16: 510, 1988). Within an extensive screening program of hematopoietic growth factor activity on malignant cells, the effects of recombinant human interleukin 6 (rhIL-6) were tested on the growth (tritiated thymidine uptake and human tumor cloning assay) of 26 different human cell lines derived from a wide range of solid tumors (head and neck, 4; lung, 1; pancreatic, 1; gastric, 1; colorectal, 3; renal, 3; bladder, 1; prostate, 1; breast, 2; ovary, 2; choriocarcinoma, 1; sarcoma, 2; glioblastoma, 2; neuroblastoma, 2). rhIL-6 (dose range up to 10(4) IU/ml) caused no reproducible enhancement or inhibition of tritiated thymidine uptake by tumor cell lines from nonhematopoietic origin. Furthermore, 19 of the tumor cell lines were clonogenic in a capillary modification of the human tumor cloning assay. No reproducible stimulation of clonal growth by rhIL-6 was observed in any of the cells tested. Particularly, there was no sensitivity of those cell lines for rhIL-6, which were previously shown to be sensitive for recombinant human interleukin 3 and recombinant human granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor in this assay. On the other hand, there were no significant growth-inhibitory effects of rhIL-6 on the cell lines tested in this study. Further experiments showed no influence of neutralizing monoclonal anti-hIL-6 antibody on the growth of 3 kidney carcinoma cell lines, making autocrine growth-modulating loops for IL-6 in these lines unlikely. In conclusion, no major interactions between hIL-6 and the growth of the human malignant cell lines from nonhematopoietic origin tested were detected in this study.

Toxicity of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) (endotoxin) is, to a large extent, mediated by the activation of monocytes/macrophages and subsequent release of monokines, such as interleukin-1 (IL-1) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha). It is known that LPS binds readily to serum lipoproteins and that LPS-lipoprotein complexes are less toxic than unbound LPS. Here we present data analyzing the impact of the LPS-serum interaction at the cellular level. By measuring IL-1 TNF-alpha, and IL-6, the interaction of different LPSs or lipid A with human serum could be shown to prevent the activation of human monocytes. The amounts of LPS inactivated by normal human serum did not exceed 10 ng/ml. The LPS-inactivating capacity of serum was shown to be a function of the lipoproteins. Other serum components, such as naturally occurring anti-LPS immunoglobulin G, complement, or nutritive lipids, had no significant influence in our system. Our experiments suggest that serum lipoproteins control endotoxin-induced monocyte activation and monokine release.