Heterogeneous proliferative effect of tumor necrosis factor-α and lymphotoxin on mitogen-activated B cells from B-chronic lymphocytic leukemia

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Abstract
The proliferative effect of tumor necrosis factor‐α (TNF‐α) and lymphotoxin on B cells from patients with B‐chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B‐CLL) was studied. Fresh purified B‐CLL lymphocytes showed no proliferative response to either recombinant (r) TNF‐α or r‐lymphotoxin. However, after 'in vitro' activation of B‐CLL lymphocytes for 2 days with Staphylococcus aureus Cowan 1 (SAC), four of seven patients showed enhanced blastogenic response in the presence of either rTNF‐α or r‐Iymphotoxin. We also found that the proliferative response of SAC‐activated B‐CLL lymphocytes to the two cytokines was independent of that found in the presence of interleukin‐2. These results demonstrate that TNF‐α and lymphotoxin can heterogeneously support the proliferation of in vitro activated B cells from B‐CLL patients and may reflect the biological heterogeneity of B‐CLL disease.