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Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease in which T lymphocytes reactive to myelin basic protein (BP) could play a central role. T cells specific for BP were cloned from the blood of multiple sclerosis patients and normal individuals, and expression of T-cell receptor variable region genes was analyzed. A remarkable bias for use of beta-chain variable region (V beta) 5.2 and, to a lesser extent, V beta 6.1 was seen among BP-specific clones from patients but not from controls. The preferential use of V beta 5.2 for BP recognition did not reflect altered expression of this V beta in the peripheral repertoire. Interestingly, shared V beta 5.2 usage was apparent for clones specific for different BP determinants, even when derived from the same individual. The concurrent demonstration by others (J. R. Oksenberg, M. A. Panzara, A. B. Begovich, H. Erlich, R. Murray, M. Sherritt, S. Stuart, C. C. Bernard, and L. Steinman, personal communication) that T cells within demyelinating areas of multiple sclerosis brains preferentially express V beta 5.2 and V beta 6.1 suggests that the BP-specific clones derived from blood may be relevant to disease pathogenesis. These findings may have important implications for the treatment of multiple sclerosis.

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Human placental tissue contains regulatory molecules that may prevent allo-sensitization. Recently, a 14 kDa beta-galactoside binding protein with demonstrated immunoregulatory properties has been cloned using cDNA from human placenta and expressed in Escherichia coli. The present study assesses the ability of this recombinant immunomodulatory lectin (rIML-1), to prevent experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a paralytic T cell-mediated disease directed against myelin basic protein (BP). Injection of rIML-1 into Lewis rats inhibited the induction of both clinical and histological signs of EAE, apparently by blocking sensitization of encephalitogenic BP-specific T cells and inducing BP-dependent suppressor cells. Because it is neither immunogenic nor toxic, rIML-1 may have application in humans, and would have distinct advantages over unselective cytotoxic immunosuppressive agents used currently in the treatment of autoimmune diseases and transplantation.

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Full length cDNAs coding for a 14-kDa beta-galactoside binding lectin have been isolated from HL-60 cells and human placenta. Oligonucleotide probes based on a pentapeptide present in several partial sequences of homologous human lectins were used to screen a lambda GT10 HL-60 cDNA library. The HL-60 cDNA clones that were isolated were used to design a synthetic primer representing the 3'-untranslated region of the HL-60 lectin. This primer was then used to synthesize a lambda GT10 human placenta cDNA library, and restriction fragments of the HL-60 cDNA clones were used to screen the library. The cDNA clones for both HL-60 and placenta lectin had identical sequences with short 5'- and 3'-untranslated regions and coded for a 135-amino acid protein which lacks a hydrophobic signal peptide sequence. Biochemical data show that, despite the presence of a possible N-linked glycosylation site, the protein is not glycosylated. Northern and Southern blot analyses indicate that the 14-kDa lectin is encoded for by a single gene. The lectin cDNA was expressed in Escherichia coli and biologically active protein was purified from cell lysates by affinity chromatography.

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Myeloma cells destroy bone by producing an osteoclast-stimulating factor that has chemical and biological characteristics similar to the bone-resorbing activity present in the supernatants of activated leukocyte cultures. Recently, a number of bone-resorbing leukocyte cytokines have been identified, including interleukin-1, lymphotoxin, and tumor necrosis factor. We have examined the products of human myeloma cells for the presence of these bone-resorbing cytokines. In a tumor cell line derived from a patient who had myeloma with osteolytic bone lesions and hypercalcemia, we found that the myeloma cells induced bone-resorbing activity and cytotoxic activity in vitro. Most of the bone-resorbing activity and all cytotoxic activity were suppressed by neutralizing antibodies to lymphotoxin. The myeloma cells expressed both lymphotoxin and tumor necrosis factor mRNA, but no tumor necrosis factor could be detected in the cell-culture medium. Interleukin-1 mRNA was not detected in the myeloma cells, and biologic activity of interleukin-1 was not measurable in the medium harvested from the cultured cells. The bone-resorbing activity induced by recombinant tumor necrosis factor and recombinant interleukin-1 was not affected by treatment with the lymphotoxin antibodies. When lymphotoxin was infused subcutaneously into normal mice (10 micrograms per day for three days), their plasma calcium levels increased. We also evaluated four established cell lines derived from three other patients with myeloma, and found a similar pattern of lymphotoxin expression in each. It appears that production of the bone-resorbing cytokine lymphotoxin is related to osteoclastic bone destruction and hypercalcemia in patients with myeloma.

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It is likely that immune cells in the bone marrow produce factors which are involved in the local control of bone remodeling. Immune cell products such as interleukin-1 and the tumor necrosis factors are potent stimulators of bone resorption in vitro. In this paper, we have studied the effects of recombinant murine interferon-gamma on bone resorption stimulated by these agents and the systemic calcium-regulating hormones 1,25(OH)2 vitamin D3 and parathyroid hormone. We found that interferon-gamma completely abolished bone resorption stimulated by the cytokines interleukin-1, tumor necrosis factor alpha and tumor necrosis factor beta. In contrast, parathyroid hormone- and 1,25(OH)2 vitamin D3-stimulated bone resorption were not significantly affected by the addition of interferon-gamma under the same conditions. Parathyroid hormone-stimulated bone resorption was inhibited slightly when larger concentrations of interferon-gamma were used for more prolonged periods. The inhibitory effects on cytokine-stimulated bone resorption occurred at interferon concentrations of 100 U/ml (half-maximal) to 300 U/ml (complete inhibition). This relatively selective inhibition of cytokine-stimulated bone resorption by an immune cell product may have physiological significance in the local control of trabecular bone volume and bone remodeling.

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Highly purified populations of large granular lymphocytes (LGL) have been shown to mediate natural killer (NK) cell activity. The mechanism of target cell killing by NK cells is as yet undefined; however, it has been postulated that such killing may involve soluble cytotoxic factors produced and secreted by NK cells. The data presented show that NK-sensitive, but not NK-resistant, tumor cell lines induce highly purified populations of human LGL to produce factors with cytotoxic and/or cytostatic activities. We have identified one of these factors as tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), and have shown that production of this factor is enhanced by recombinant human interferon-gamma (rHuIFN-gamma). We have also examined the role of TNF-alpha in the cytotoxic function of NK cells. The data show that although highly purified LGL populations produce low levels of TNF-alpha, the cytotoxic/cytostatic activity of this lymphokine on tumor target cells does not correlate with the cytotoxic activity of highly purified populations of LGL on tumor target cells. Furthermore, NK cell-mediated cytotoxicity is not reliably inhibited by antibodies directed against various epitopes of recombinant human TNF-alpha and/or recombinant TNF-beta (lymphotoxin) or rHuIFN-gamma. These data show that although TNF-alpha is produced by highly purified NK-containing LGL cell populations, this factor does not appear to be responsible for NK cell cytotoxicity against classical NK target cells such as Molt-4 or K562. We suggest that NK function can be attributed to a combination of factors rather than to a single factor alone, and that at least two major phenomena are involved in LGL function: the rapid cytotoxic events which lead to the cell lysis measured in classical in vitro NK assays such as against K562; and the release of factors such as TNF-alpha with cytotoxic/cytostatic activities which would inhibit the growth of invading tumor cells in vivo.

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When leukocytes are exposed to mitogens or antigens in vitro, they release bone-resorbing activity into the culture supernatants which can be detected by bioassay. Like many lymphocyte-monocyte products, this activity has been difficult to purify because of its low abundance in activated leukocyte cultures and the unwieldy bioassay required to detect biological activity. Partially purified preparations of this activity inhibit bone collagen synthesis in organ cultures of fetal rat calvariae. Recent data suggest that both activated lymphocytes and monocytes release factors which could contribute to this activity. Recently, monocyte-derived tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) and lymphocyte-derived tumour necrosis factor beta (TNF-beta) (previously called lymphotoxin), two multifunctional cytokines which have similar cytotoxic effects on neoplastic cell lines, have been purified to homogeneity and their complementary DNAs cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli. As both of these cytokines are likely to be present in activated leukocyte supernatants, we tested purified recombinant preparations for their effects on bone resorption and bone collagen synthesis in vitro, and report here that both cytokines at 10(-7) to 10(-9) M caused osteoclastic bone resorption and inhibited bone collagen synthesis. These data suggest that at least part of the bone-resorbing activity present in activated leukocyte culture supernatants may be due to these cytokines.

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Human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were induced by recombinant interleukin 2 and mitogens to secrete two distinct cytotoxic polypeptides, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and tumor necrosis factor-beta (TNF-beta), previously called lymphotoxin. Treatment of PBMC with recombinant human interleukin 2 (rIL 2) or mitogens in combination with recombinant human interferon-gamma (rIFN-gamma) resulted in augmented production of both TNF-alpha and TNF-beta. rIFN-gamma alone had no effect on production of either cytotoxic polypeptide. TNF-alpha was produced within 2 to 3 hr after induction and was the major cytotoxin produced by PBMC during the first 48 hr of culture, after which time TNF-beta became the predominant species. TNF-beta was first secreted into the media after 8 hr of induction. Enhanced levels of both TNF-alpha and TNF-beta were seen when the PBMC were separated into adherent and nonadherent cells. Both TNF-alpha and TNF-beta were induced in different tumor cell lines of hematopoietic origin. The results demonstrate that the production of TNF-alpha and TNF-beta can be enhanced by two lymphokines, IL 2 and IFN-gamma.

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Human Tumor Necrosis Factor and Lymphotoxin are cytotoxic proteins which have similar biological activities and share 30 percent amino acid homology. The single copy genes which encode these proteins share several structural features: each gene is approximately three kilobase pairs in length and is interrupted by three introns. In addition, these genes are closely linked and have been mapped to human chromosome 6. However, only the last exons of both genes, which code for more than 80 percent of each secreted protein, are significantly homologous (56 percent).

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Human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were induced by recombinant human interleukin 2 (rIL 2) to secrete lymphotoxin (LT) and interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma). Induction of both LT and IFN-gamma by rIL 2 is regulated at the transcriptional level. Treatment of PBMC with rIL 2 in combination with recombinant human IFN-gamma (rIFN-gamma) resulted in an earlier appearance of LT mRNA and an augmented production of LT than did rIL 2 treatment alone. IFN-gamma alone had no effect on production of either LT or its mRNA. PBMC cultured in the presence of rIL 2 plus anti-rIFN-gamma resulted in decreased LT production. Only a 15-min incubation of PBMC with rIL 2 is needed to stimulate LT production, whereas 3 hr is necessary for IFN-gamma production. These results suggest that rIL 2, in addition to being a T cell growth factor, may exhibit other activities through induction of LT and IFN-gamma.

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Human tumor necrosis factor (TNF) was purified to homogeneity from serum-free tissue culture supernatants of the HL-60 promyelocytic leukemia cell line induced by 4 beta-phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate. The purification scheme consisted of controlled-pore glass and DEAE-cellulose chromatography, Mono Q-fast-protein liquid chromatography, and reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography. The purified protein was homogeneous by the criteria of sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and NH2-terminal sequence analysis. The specific activity of purified tumor necrosis factor is approximately 10(8) units/mg. The protein has a molecular weight of approximately 17,000, an isoelectric point of 5.3, and contains two cysteines involved in a disulfide bridge. Approximately 50% homology between TNF and another cytolytic lymphokine, lymphotoxin, exists when the NH2-terminal 34 residues of TNF and internal sequence generated by tryptic, Staphylococcus aureus V8 protease, and chymotryptic digests of TNF are aligned with the complete amino acid sequence of lymphotoxin.

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We have isolated, sequenced, and determined the chromosomal localization of the gene encoding human lymphotoxin (LT). The single copy gene was isolated from a human genomic library using a 32P-labeled 116 bp synthetic DNA fragment whose sequence was based on the NH2-terminal amino acid sequence of LT. The gene spans 3 kb of DNA and is interrupted by three intervening sequences. The LT gene is located on human chromosome 6, as determined by Southern blot analysis of human-murine hybrid DNA. Putative transcriptional control regions and areas of homology with the promoters of interferon and other genes are identified.

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Human tumour necrosis factor has about 30% homology in its amino acid sequence with lymphotoxin, a lymphokine that has similar biological properties. Recombinant tumour necrosis factor can be obtained by expression of its complementary DNA in Escherichia coli and induces the haemorrhagic necrosis of transplanted methylcholanthrene-induced sarcomas in syngeneic mice.

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A human/mouse hybridoma was developed which has the property of secreting a human bone resorbing factor similar or identical to the osteoclast activating factor (OAF) isolated from human tonsil lymphocytes. Mouse plasmacytoma cells negative for OAF production were fused with an enriched subpopulation of human tonsil lymphocytes that had been activated with phytohemagglutinin (PHA) to produce OAF (G.E. Nedwin, M.A. Mohler, and R.A. Luben, submitted for publication). Culture supernatants from mixed hybridomas contained a bone resorbing protein shown to cause the release of 45Ca from previously labeled mouse calvaria. The bone resorbing activity from these hybridomas was inhibited by the presence of OAF-specific monoclonal antibodies. Several hybridomas retained OAF production following limited dilution cloning. One clone, CD6.20, showed a biphasic dose-response curve for bone resorption similar to that of purified OAF from PHA-activated human tonsil lymphocytes. OAF production in the CD6.20 cell line has been retained for over 100 passages. Karyotype analysis of this cell shows the presence of human chromosomes 10 and 18 and the X chromosome.

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The human lympholine osteoclast activating factor (OAF) is thought to be involved in several bone-destroying diseases. The current studies were designed to produce monoclonal antibodies against OAF for use in the subsequent design of immunoassays for OAF in clinical samples. Spleen cells from mice immunized with purified human OAF were hybridized with mouse plasmacytoma cells in vitro to yield hybridomas. Several clones of these hybridomas secreted into the culture medium antibodies, which neutralized the biological activity of OAF at dilutions as high as 1:100,000 relative to the initial culture medium. These antibodies did not interfere with the activities of parathyroid hormone in the same systems. These results represent the first report of monoclonal antibodies against a human lympholine, and validate the concept that hybridoma production is a useful technique for developing antibodies against weak or scarce antigens.

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