Growth factor-mediated proliferation in B cell non-Hodgkin's lymphomas

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Abstract
The non-Hodgkin''s lymphomas (NHL) are a heterogenous group of human lymphoid tumors, primarily of B cell lineage, which appear to represent arrested stages in B lymphocyte differentiation. Control of cell proliferation is a fundamentally important but poorly understood area of study in these tumors. A representative group of B cell NHL was studied to assess their potential for growth factor-mediated proliferation in vitro. Purified monoclonal NHL B cells of the small cell (well-differentiated lymphocytic lymphoma, nodular poorly differentiated lymphocytic lymphoma, etc.) type, that were positive for the human malignancy-associated nucleolar antigen, could be stimulated by human B cell growth factor (BCGF) to proliferate in vitro. Other B cell activators, such as insoluble anti-Ig and the mitogen protein A, also could stimulate thymidine incorporation in the lymphoma cell populations. In vitro lymphoma cell growth could be maintained in the presence of the growth factor for up to 5 wk. The large B cell type NHL appeared to be refractory to in vitro stimulation by BCGF as well as other stimulators of normal B cells. Human B cell lymphoid tumors apparently are not only phenotypically similar to their normal B lymphocyte counterparts but are also sensitive in some cases to the same types of immunoregulatory molecules that control normal lymphoid cell growth.