Cell lines producing human T-cell lymphoma virus show altered HLA expression.

Human T-cell leukaemia/lymphoma virus (HTLV) can be identified in fresh and cultured T-lymphocytes from patients with adult T-cell malignancies. HLA typing of the peripheral blood lymphocytes and cultured cell lines from the patient from which the virus was originally isolated suggested the expression of additional HLA-A and -B locus antigens on the HTLV positive cultured T-cells that were not present on the EBV transformed B-cell line or on the peripheral blood lymphocytes. Peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs) and T-cell lines established from patients and cord blood lymphocytes, infected with virus by co-culture with T-cell lines, were typed for HLA antigens with alloantisera and in addition tested for reactivity with a monoclonal antibody (4D12) which recognizes a polymorphic HLA class-I antigen. In all HTLV positive cells, with demonstrable provirus replication, altered HLA alloantigen expression was observed. This may be explained by the observations reported in the accompanying paper which shows homology between the envelope gene region of HTLV and the region of an HLA-B locus gene which codes for the extracellular portion of a class I histocompatibility antigen.