Generation of primary murine CTL specific for allogeneic and xenogeneic MHC determinants upon stimulation with murine L cells transfected with class I genes.

This communication describes in vitro culture conditions that permit the use of MHC gene-transfected L cells as stimulators of primary CTL responses. The use of L cells as stimulators usually results in the generation of "nonspecific" anti-L cell cytotoxicity too great to permit visualization of antigen-specific CTL responses. This study demonstrates that the generation of such anti-L cell cytotoxicity can be abrogated by strategies that prevent the in vitro activation of self-Ia-restricted TH cells. These maneuvers allowed the use of L cell transfectants as stimulators of allospecific and xenospecific CTL precursors in primary in vitro mixed lymphocyte reaction cultures.