Expression and biological activity of interleukin-1 receptors in mouse gamma/delta thymocytes during ontogeny

Expression of interleukin-1 receptors in the later period of foetal thymic organ culture and during suspension culture of thymocytes from aged mice

Interleukin-1 has been reported to be involved in thymocyte development by exerting a variety of effects on immature CD4-CD8- double-negative (DN) thymocytes. In contrast to the well-documented involvement of IL-1 in thymocyte development, expression of IL-1 receptors (IL-1R) on thymocytes has not been well demonstrated. In the present study, expression of IL-1R on the developing thymocytes was investigated. Although normal thymocytes barely express IL-1R, expression of IL-1R (type I) substantially increased at days 12-15 of foetal thymic organ culture (FTOC), with an increase of the DN subset. The CD4/CD8 profile of the IL-1R (type I)+ cells showed that these cells were mostly restricted to the DN and CD4+CD8+ subsets. Interestingly, in vitro culture of the thymocytes from an aged mouse, but not those from young adult or newborn mice, revealed similar results to those of FTOC. In addition, half of the IL-1R+ cells that increased in the later period of FTOC were gammadelta thymocytes. These results demonstrate IL-1R expression on thymocytes during ex vivo culture and suggest that IL-1R is expressed in a certain environment during normal thymocyte differentiation.

Signaling properties of anti-immunoglobulin--resistant variants of WEHI-231 B lymphoma cells

Stimulation of the B cell antigen receptor (BCR) of the murine immature WEHI-231 B lymphoma with anti-immunoglobulin antibodies leads to irreversible growth arrest and apoptosis. As in normal B cells, membrane immunoglobulin (mIg) ligation in WEHI-231 cells triggers a series of signaling cascades from the BCR to intracellular compartments. In order to address the role of early signals in mediating the growth arrest of WEHI-231 cells, we have generated two variants resistant to the anti-Ig-mediated inhibitory effect. Some of the properties of these variants have been recently described in terms of bcl-2 and c-myc gene regulation. We report here that these variants can be further distinguished from the wild type on the basis of significant alterations in the early biochemical events which follow mIg ligation. Both Ca2+ signals and patterns of protein tyrosine phosphorylation were affected in these variants, suggesting that alterations in the early signal transduction machinery may have profound effects on the fate of B cells. In addition, we found that expression of the p75HS1 substrate of p53/56lyn was strikingly reduced in both variants as compared to the wild type. These findings support the view that p75HS1 may play a critical role in BCR-dependent signaling cascades.