Use of Vpß.8 genes in splenic Lyt-2+ cytotoxic lymphocyte precursors reactive to bm1 or bm14 alloantigen in individual C57BL/6 mice

Abstract

The cytotoxic response of cell sorter‐purified small Lyt‐2⁺ splenic cytotoxic lymphocyte precursors from 10 individual C57BL/6 mice to mutant class I H‐2K^bm1 or H‐2D^bm14 allodeterminants was analyzed under limiting dilution conditions. The cytotoxic activity of anti‐bm1‐specific or anti‐bml4‐specific cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) populations (selected for a high probability of clonality) was tested against F23 hybridoma cells; F23⁺ CTL clones lysed F23 hybridoma targets but F23⁻ CTL clones did not. In the C57BL/6 anti‐bml mixed lymphocyte reaction, 36% (range 29–48%) of the generated CTL clones were F23⁺; in the B6‐anti‐bml4 mixed lymphocyte reaction, 45% (range 34–49%) of the generated CTL clones were F23⁺. Hence, a large fraction of the anti‐bml‐ or anti‐bm14‐reactive CTL clones from C57BL/6 mice use Vß.8 genes to construct these allospecific T cell receptor phenotypes, but no extensive variation in the use of Vß.8 genes in the construction of allospecific T cell receptor phenotypes of restricted heterogeneity is found in individual mice of the same strain.