Frequency and cross-reactivity od cytolytic T lymphocyte precursors reacting against male alloantigens
Kanagawa, O.; Louis, J.; Cerottini, J.C.
Journal of Immunology 128(5): 2362-2366
1982
ISSN/ISBN: 0022-1767 PMID: 6174631 Document Number: 186941
Cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) specific for the male minor histocompatibility antigen (H-Y) are generated by restimulation in vitro of in vivo primed spleen cells from C57BL/6 (H-2b) female mice with syngeneic male spleen cells. When tested on target cells from H-2 different strains, the male-specific C57BL/6 CTL populations exhibited significant lysis of DBA/2 (H-2d), A (H-2a), but not C3H (H-2k), male and female target cells. To document this cross-reactivity further at the clonal level, a sensitive technique of limiting dilution analysis was used to determine the specificity of C57BL/6 individual CTL precursors (CTL-P) reactive against the male antigen. The mean frequency of anti-H-Y CTL-P in spleens of primed female mice was .apprx. 1/3500. Between 1/3-1/10 of these CTL-P produced a progeny that cross-reacted with H-2d (allogeneic) female target cells. These findings were confirmed by the analysis of the reactivity pattern exhibited by male-specific CTL clones derived by limiting dilution. Of 99 clones tested, 13 cross-reacted with female DBA/2 target cells. A relatively large proportion (> 10%) of H-2d CTL-P directed against the H-Y antigen apparently cross-react with target cells expressing H-2d alloantigens in the absence of H-Y antigen.