Major histocompatibility complex antigens in v-Ki-ras transformed cells: the different antigens are expressed and induced by interferons independently of one another and of the anti-viral state.

A series of cell lines, which differed in their expression of class I (H-2K) or II (I-A) major histocompatibility complex (MHC) antigens, was derived from a line of C3H/He (H-2k) mouse embryo fibroblasts transformed by the v-Ki-ras oncogene. These were prepared by fluorescence-activated cell sorting of cells stained for these antigens either without interferon (IFN) treatment or after induction of antigen expression by either IFN-alpha beta or IFN-gamma, selecting for low or high staining. Cells selected for low (undetectable) constitutive H-2Kk expression were still strongly inducible by either IFN; cells selected for high constitutive expression were induced by IFN to express still higher levels. In all cell lines induction of H-2Kk with one IFN type was paralleled by induction with the other. Expression of H-2Kk appeared largely independent of H-2Dk; in lines which were selected for low H-2Kk expression (constitutive or induced), H-2Dk expression was not much reduced, and lines selected for high H-2Kk expression showed only modest augmentation of H-2Dk. Varying inducibility of I-Ak by IFN-gamma was not closely paralleled by H-2K inducibility by either IFN-alpha beta or -gamma, with again only weak correlation of high and low expression of H2-Kk and I-Ak. On the other hand, expression of I-Ak seemed to be correlated with I-Ek. None of these variable effects could be attributed to differing sensitivity to IFN-alpha beta or -gamma since all the lines showed about the same sensitivity to the anti-viral effects of IFN.