Antigen‐Specific Proliferative Human T‐Lymphocyte Clones with Specificity for Chlamydia trachomatis

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Abstract
Blast-enriched suspensions of T cells primed for C. trachomatis antigen were cloned by a limiting dilution technique. A cloning efficiency of 20-25% was obtained. T lymphocyte clones (TLC) with high proliferative responses were selected for further studies. Kinetic studies showed a peak response between 60-84 h after antigen stimulation. The TLC were OKT4+. They were specific for the chlamydial antigen and did not respond to other antigens when non-T cells were used as antigen-presenting cells (APC). Antigen-specific proliferation of the TLC required that the responding TLC and the APC shared class-II HLA determinants-that is, HLA-D/DR molecules. The true clonal nature of the TLC was confirmed by subcloning experiments.