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

Abstract

Human T-cell leukaemia/lymphoma virus (HTLV) can be identified in fresh and cultured T-lymphocytes from patients with adult T-cell malignancies^1–6. 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 lymphocytes⁴. 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 antigen⁷. 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 paper⁸ 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.