T-cell subsets in human lymphocytes maintained in IL-2 medium after PHA or mixed lymphocyte reaction activation.

The culture of human T lymphocytes in interleukin-2 (IL-2) containing growth factor medium results in a significant shift in the T-lymphocytes subsets isolated from such cultures at weekly intervals. If normal peripheral blood mononuclear cells are stimulated with phytohemagglutinin (PHA) or in a mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR), the resulting T lymphoblasts can be propagated in growth factor medium. Staining of the cultured cells with monoclonal antibodies was evaluated by indirect immunofluorescence on a laser-activated flow cytometer (Ortho Spectrum III). The antibodies used were: OKT3 (mature T lymphocytes), OKT4 (helper/inducer T lymphocytes), OKT8 (cytotoxic/suppressor T lymphocytes, OKT10 (immature and "activated" lymphocytes), OKT11a (cells which rosette with sheep erythrocytes), and OKIa-I (HLA-DR constant region). Both PHA and MLR activation resulted in initial preservation of the OKT4+ subset predominance over OKT8+ T lymphocytes noted on normal circulating blood lymphocytes. However, during culture in T-cell growth factor medium, there was a progressive increase in the percentage of OKT8+ cells, and a concomitant decrease in OKT4+ lymphoblasts. The increase in OKT8+ cells in the MLR-stimulated cultures was paralleled by an increase in specific cell-mediated cytotoxicity against the stimulating lymphocyte population. In addition to the shift in T-lymphocyte subset, there was virtual 100% staining with OKT3 and OKT11a, indicating the T-cell nature of the proliferating cells. OKT10 which was present on a small subset of fresh blood lymphocytes appeared rapidly in stimulated cultures, and was retained on virtually all lymphoblasts of either OKT4+ or OKT8+ subset. OKIa-1 cells increased slowly in PHA-stimulated cultures. HLA-DR+ T cells were detected earlier in MLR cultures. The activation of T lymphocytes results in a significant increase in the number of molecules of OKT11a bound per cell, in concert with the increased avidity of T lymphoblasts for sheep erythrocytes. The significant change in the phenotype and function of lymphoblasts isolated from long-term cultures demonstrates the importance of monitoring cultures, and the potential hazards in equating a cultured cell population with a freshly isolated one.