HUMAN SPLEEN AS A SOURCE OF T-CELL GROWTH-FACTOR

  • 1 January 1981
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 44  (2) , 262-269
Abstract
Human spleen cells were tested for the ability to produce T cell growth factor (TCGF) upon stimulation with PHA [phytohemagglutinin]. Quantitative analysis of the amounts of TCGF produced under optimal conditions indicated that supernatants obtained from spleen cell cultures were approximately 5 times more active than those derived from peripheral blood leukocytes (PBL). In contrast to PBL, there was no significant difference in TCGF production between individual spleen cell populations. Among splenic T cells, TG[IgG Fc receptor-bearing T cells]-depleted cell fractions were superior to TG-enriched cell fractions in producing TCGF upon PHA stimulation. These supernatants induced intense proliferation of blast cell populations isolated from mixed leukocyte-tumor cell cultures (MLTC) established with PBL and irradiated allogeneic myelogenous leukemic cells [MGLC]. Within 7 days of culture in TCGF, the number of MLTC blast cells increased approximately 300-fold. Concomitantly, the lytic activity (on a per-cell basis) of these populations against the corresponding MGLC targets increased approximately 80-fold.