Cytotoxic T cell lysis of H‐2‐negative murine sarcoma cells

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Abstract
The DOH cell line was established from C3H.OH (H‐2Kd, Dk) embryonic fibroblasts transformed with Rous sarcoma virus (RSV) in vitro. When injected into syngeneic mice, DOH cells were very weakly tumorigenic and induced a cytotoxic immune response. Cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) specifically lysed DOH cells but not other RSV‐induced sarcoma cells, which shared the H‐2Kd or H‐2Dk antigen, respectively, with DOH. Serological and immunochemical analysis of H‐2 antigens subsequently showed that DOH sarcoma cells did not express syngeneic H‐2K and H‐2D antigens. Surprisingly, a H‐2Kd‐specific monoclonal antibody (100‐5) bound to DOH cells and was inhibitory for syngeneic CTL specific for DOH. In addition, DOH cells were lysed by alloreactive H‐2Kk‐specific CTL. The demonstration of immunogenic H‐2‐negative sarcoma cells suggests that either the H‐2K antigens have been extensively altered or that hitherto unidentified major histocompatibility complex class I molecules are expresled on DOH sarcoma cells surfaces, acting as target antigens for tumor‐specific CTL.