leucyl-leucine-methyl-ester and Cell-Transformation--Viral

Epstein-Barr virus-mediated transformation of human B lymphocytes is inhibited by human T lymphocytes as well as by interferon-gamma. Removal of the inhibitory cell populations is essential in order to achieve successful transformation in vitro. Cells with the capacity to inhibit outgrowth of lymphoblastoid cell lines can be removed by pretreatment of peripheral blood mononuclear cells with L-leucyl-L-leucine methyl ester. This treatment eliminates monocytes, NK-cells and a CD8+ T cell subpopulation. We now show that such treatment also has toxic effects on other human T cell populations. In addition, CD4+ and/or CD8+ lymphocytes are demonstrated to contain effector cell activities which inhibit outgrowth of EBV-transformed B cells. This inhibitory activity is abolished after treatment of peripheral blood mononuclear cells or purified CD4+ T cells with L-leucyl-L-leucine methyl ester. No evidence was found for a selective toxicity against any subset within the CD4+ or CD8+ T cell populations. However, the capacity of the treated cells, both peripheral blood mononuclear cells and purified CD4+ T lymphocytes, to produce mRNA encoding IFN-gamma, a protein previously shown to downregulate outgrowth of EBV-transformed B cells, was selectively impaired. The results obtained suggest a role for CD4+ T cells to inhibit EBV-induced transformation of B cells.

Topics: Antibodies, Monoclonal; B-Lymphocytes; CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes; Cell Line, Transformed; Cell Transformation, Viral; Cytotoxicity, Immunologic; Dipeptides; Herpesvirus 4, Human; Humans; Immunosuppressive Agents; Interferon-gamma; Leukocyte Count; Lymphocyte Activation; RNA, Messenger; T-Lymphocyte Subsets; T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory

The selective cytotoxicity of the lysosomotropic methyl esters of leucine or its lysosomal condensation product leucyl-leucine has been used to investigate the effect of cytolytic cells on the clonal outgrowth, cellular proliferation and antibody secretion of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-transformed human B cells. Large granular lymphocytes (LGL), monocytes, and a subset of T cells (CD8/CD11+) were permanently eliminated by the ester treatment. These lysosome-rich cells severely inhibit the clonal outgrowth of EBV-infected B cells, as determined by Poisson distribution calculations. Furthermore, leucyl-leucine methyl ester-treated and EBV-infected lymphocytes showed a significant increase in proliferative capability as well as immunoglobulin (Ig) production (three to 11 times) compared to non-treated but similarly infected lymphocytes. Since the effect of leucyl-leucine methyl ester treatment was also detectable in low-density (100 B cells/well) cultures, the suppression was unlikely to be exerted by EBV-specific T-cell clones, but pointed rather to the natural killer (NK) cells as effectors.

Topics: B-Lymphocytes; Cell Transformation, Viral; Cytotoxicity, Immunologic; Dipeptides; Herpesvirus 4, Human; Humans; Immunoglobulin G; Immunoglobulin M; Immunoglobulins; Immunosuppressive Agents; Lymphocyte Activation; T-Lymphocytes