The role of lymphotoxin in target cell destruction by mitogen-activated human lymphocytes. I. The correlation of target cell sensitivity to lymphotoxin and the intact lymphocyte

A colorimetric microtiter assay for the quantitation of cytokine activity on adherent cells in tissue culture

A colorimetric microtiter assay was developed for the quantitation of adherent cells in culture, which is based on the staining of cells with a commercially available staining kit. Adherent L929, A375 cell lines and human monocytes were stained with Hemacolor reagents and the color eluted with SDS 0.5% was determined spectrophotometrically with an ELISA plate reader at 630 nm. The method enabled the detection of cells and was linear up to 3 x 10(4) L929 cells/well. The Hemacolor staining assay was compared to the crystal violet staining assay and the MTT reduction assay, and was found to be sensitive, accurate and reproducible, and has the advantage of enabling microscopic inspection of the stained cells prior to color elution. The assay was found to be suitable for the determination of cytotoxic cytokines, and the enumeration of adherent monocytes. This method might be also used for the quantitation of cytotoxic drugs, and the cytophatic activity of viruses.

Interrelated effects of tumor necrosis factor and interleukin 1 on cell viability

Cells are sensitized to the cytolytic effect of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) by simultaneous application of inhibitors of RNA or protein synthesis. Treating cells, in the absence of such inhibitors, with cytokine preparations produced by stimulated mononuclear leukocytes may render them resistant to the cytolytic effect of TNF + the inhibitors. One of the cytokines which induces that resistance was identified as TNF itself (17). As shown in the present study, similar resistance against TNF-mediated killing can be effectively induced also with preparations of cytokines which are depleted of TNF. Fractionation of such TNF-free preparations revealed that their resistance-inducing activity is mediated by interleukin 1 (IL 1). In part of the cell lines in which IL 1 induced resistance to TNF killing, when applied without inhibitors of protein/RNA synthesis, it was found to exert cytolytic effect in the presence of such inhibitors, however, less effectively than TNF. Both TNF and IL 1 thus appear to activate in cells cytolytic mechanisms as well as antagonizing mechanisms which can protect cells from cytolysis.

Regulation of human lung fibroblast glycosaminoglycan production by recombinant interferons, tumor necrosis factor, and lymphotoxin

Mononuclear cells may be important regulators of fibroblast glycosaminoglycan (GAG) biosynthesis. However, the soluble factors mediating these effects, the importance of intercytokine interactions in this regulation and the mechanisms of these alterations remain poorly understood. We analyzed the effect of recombinant (r) tumor necrosis factor (TNF), lymphotoxin (LT), and gamma, alpha, and beta 1 interferons (INF-gamma, -alpha and -beta 1), alone and in combination, on GAG production by normal human lung fibroblasts. rTNF, rLT, and rINF-gamma each stimulated fibroblast GAG production. In addition, rIFN-gamma synergized with rTNF and rLT to further augment GAG biosynthesis. In contrast, IFN-alpha A, -alpha D, and -beta 1 neither stimulated fibroblast GAG production nor interacted with rTNF or rLT to regulate GAG biosynthesis. The effects of the stimulatory cytokines and cytokine combinations were dose dependent and were abrogated by the respective monoclonal antibodies. In addition, these cytokines did not cause an alteration in the distribution of GAG between the fibroblast cell layer and supernatant. However, the stimulation was at least partially specific for particular GAG moieties with hyaluronic acid biosynthesis being markedly augmented without a comparable increase in the production of sulfated GAGs. Fibroblast prostaglandin production did not mediate these alterations since indomethacin did not decrease the stimulatory effects of the cytokines. In contrast, protein and mRNA synthesis appeared to play a role since the stimulatory effects of the cytokines were abrogated by cyclohexamide and actinomycin D, respectively. In addition, the cytokines and cytokine combinations increased cellular hyaluronate synthetase activity in proportion to their effects on hyaluronic acid suggesting that induction of this enzyme(s) is important in this stimulatory process. These studies demonstrate that IFN-gamma, TNF, and LT are important stimulators of fibroblast GAG biosynthesis, that interactions between these cytokines may be important in this regulatory process, that these cytokines predominantly stimulate hyaluronic acid production and that this effect may be mediated by stimulation of fibroblast hyaluronate synthetase activity.

Binding of human TNF-alpha to high-affinity cell surface receptors: effect of IFN

Human tumor-necrosis factor (INF-alpha), induced by Sendai virus in peripheral blood mononuclear leukocytes (PBMC), was isolated using a monoclonal antibody to the protein and radioiodinated by the chloramine-T method. Effective labelling of the protein with little loss of bioactivity was obtained. The labelled protein was found to bind specifically to high affinity receptors present on cells of various cultured lines. The molecular nature of these receptors was examined using the bifunctional cross-linking reagents disuccinimidyl suberate (DSS) and dithiobis succinimidyl propionate (DSP). In SDS-PAGE, conjugates between TNF receptors and the labelled TNF of two sizes (about 75 and 92 kDa) were detected. 125I-labelled TNF was also used to examine variations in TNF receptor concentration, upon treatment of cells by interferon (IFN) or TNF, and any correlation of observed variations with the effect of IFN and TNF on responsiveness of cells to the cytotoxicity of TNF. The decreased vulnerability of cells to the cytotoxic effect of TNF, following treatment of cells by TNF itself, was not correlated with decreased availability of free receptors for the protein. However, an increase in responsiveness of cells to TNF following treatment by IFN was accompanied by some increase in binding of TNF to the receptors.

Rapid colorimetric assay for cell viability: application to the quantitation of cytotoxic and growth inhibitory lymphokines

A rapid colorimetric microtiter assay has been developed to detect cytotoxic lymphokines produced by human lymphocytes activated with lectins or tumor cells. The viability of lymphotoxin-treated target cells was detected using a tetrazolium dye that is reduced to a blue formazan by living but not dead cells. The amount of dye formed was quantitated using a microplate spectrophotometer (ELISA plate reader) and visual observations confirmed the amount of formazan dye produced was directly proportional to the number of viable target cells. The advantages of using this colorimetric method are that it requires no washing steps or radioisotopes and its precision and rapidity. Optimal conditions were established using the murine L929 and human ESH -5L cell lines as target cells for detecting lymphotoxins produced by human lymphocytes. The data indicate that the L929 cell line was 10-50-fold more sensitive than the ESH -5L line to the lytic activity of cytotoxins produced by human phytohemagglutinin-P-activated T lymphocytes, or the cytotoxins produced by peripheral blood lymphocytes stimulated with various tumor cell lines. This assay system was also useful in detecting antibodies capable of neutralizing lymphotoxin activity and thus should be a suitable method to aid in the molecular characterization of these lymphokines.

Interrelationships of human interferon-gamma with lymphotoxin and monocyte cytotoxin

Crude preparations of interferon (IFN)-gamma derived from human peripheral blood leukocyte (PBL) cultures induced with 12-O-tetra-decanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) and phytohemagglutinin (PHA) were more cytotoxic to HeLa cells than partially purified nautral or highly purified recombinant human IFN-gamma preparations. Conditioned media from PBL cultures contained, in addition to IFN-gamma, a mixture of cytotoxins, including classic lymphocyte-derived lymphotoxin (LT), and a TPA-induced cytotoxic activity produced by the adherent cell population (presumably monocytes). These two types of cytotoxins, indistinguishable in the mouse L929 cell LT assay, could be differentiated by an antiserum prepared against LT derived from the B lymphoblastoid cell line RPMI 1788. This antiserum neutralized lymphocyte-derived classic LT but failed to neutralize the activity of the monocyte-derived cytotoxin. Processing of conditioned media by sequential chromatography on silicic acid, Con A-Sepharose, and DEAE-Sephacel failed to separate IFN-gamma from the LT activity. However, this procedure did remove the monocyte-derived cytotoxic activity present in the original starting material, leaving predominantly classic LT. This LT showed a slightly basic isoelectric point (pI 7.6) which partially overlapped the more basic pI range of IFN-gamma. The two lymphokine activities also could not be completely separated by fast protein liquid chromatography or molecular sieve chromatography. LT in these partially purified preparations was associated with a protein having an apparent molecular weight of 58,000 on gel filtration. This form dissociated partially into a 20,000 mol wt species after denaturation with 0.1% NaDodSO4. IFN-gamma could be selectively removed from preparations containing both IFN-gamma and LT with the aid of monoclonal antibody to IFN-gamma. The addition of purified LT to purified E. coli-derived recombinant human IFN-gamma resulted in a marked synergistic enhancement of cytotoxicity for HeLa cells.

Lymphotoxins - a multicomponent system of growth inhibitory and cell-lytic glycoproteins

Activated lymphocytes from experimental animals and man can release materials, termed lymphotoxins , which cause growth inhibition and cell lysis in vitro. These molecules, from human lymphocytes, are glycoproteins which can be divided into five molecular weight classes. These forms are heterogeneous, for each MW class can be further subdivided into multiple charge subclasses. It is now clear certain MW classes are interrelated and form a system of cell toxins. The larger classes (greater than 140,000 d) are associated with nonclassical antigen-binding receptors (R), which can be of T cell origin. The smaller forms (less than 90,000 d) do not express R function and are derived from the larger forms, possibly by enzymatic action. Two MW classes, one receptor-associated and one non-receptor associated, have been purified to homogeneity and their peptide composition is being studied. Functional studies reveal the larger MW forms derived from alloimmune cell populations; can induce selective and nonselective destruction of cells in vitro. Antibodies which inhibit the in vitro cell lytic ability of various human LT forms can block different classes of human lymphocyte cell killing reactions in vitro.

Direct cytolysis by partially-purified preparations of immune interferon

Mouse IFN gamma preparations purified 30-fold were found to have direct cytolytic activity against a number of tumor and normal cells. Cell killing was determined using a sensitive, rapid and accurate assay which employed very low numbers of cells and very small quantities of interferon. The cytolytic activity of IFN gamma on 11 murine tumor cell lines was investigated. A 20-fold difference was found between the most-sensitive cell type, P-388 lymphoma, versus the most resistant cell type, C127v leukemia. A number of normal mouse cells was also found to have low to intermediate sensitivity to the cytolytic action of IFN gamma. Human IFN gamma was also shown to have cytolytic activity which, like mouse IFN gamma, was relatively species-specific. Direct cytolysis was not found to be a characteristic of IFN-alpha/beta. Different mechanisms of action for the antiviral and cytolytic activities of IFN gamma are indicated because the cytolytic titer of IFN gamma did not parallel its antiviral titer on most cell types and increasing the cell number produced a decrease in the cytolytic titer and an increase in the anti-viral titer. High concentrations of IFN gamma (i.e., 2,900 units/ml) resulted in complete lysis of cells within 24 h, while lower concentrations (i.e., 700 units/ml) resulted in a reversible inhibition of cell growth during this time period. Evidence that the cytolytic substance in the IFN gamma preparation was IFN gamma include the following: (1) both antiviral and anticellular activities copurified through a 30-fold purification; and both activities were (2) relatively species-specific; (3) sensitive to heat; (4) inactivated by low pH and (5) neutralized by antibodies to IFN gamma. Therefore, we propose the possibility that direct cytolysis is yet another of IFN gamma's distinctive antivities.

Lymphotoxin cytotoxicity, a combination of cytolytic and cytostatic cellular responses

Guinea pig lymphotoxin inhibits the growth of mouse alpha L929 and guinea pig 104C1 tumor cells with lethal doses (LD 50's) of 0.4 and 200 units lymphotoxin/ml, respectively, in a colony inhibition assay. Refeeding with lymphotoxin-free medium is followed by resumption of 104C1 but not alpha L929 cell growth. This suggests that growth inhibition of alpha L929 is primarily due to cytolytic mechanisms, while that of 104C1 cells is due to cytostatic mechanisms. This is confirmed by radionuclide (3H, 51Cr, and 75Se) release assays with LD 50's of 1.0, 1.9, and 2.4 units lymphotoxin/ml, respectively, for alpha L929 cells, whereas as many as 100 units lymphotoxin/ml produce no radionuclide release from 104C1 cells. The L cell variant L929M is 10-fold more resistant to lymphotoxin colony inhibitory activity and 40-300-fold more resistant to cytolytic lymphotoxin activity as measured by the three radionuclide release assays than are alpha L929 cells. L929 and 2071 L cell variants are more resistant as a result of smaller cytolytic and cytostatic responses and some tumor cells, such as one strain of L1210 mouse leukemia cells, exhibit no detectable cytolytic or cytostatic responses to 100 units of guinea pig lymphotoxin. These observations demonstrate that the divergent susceptibilities of different cells to lymphotoxin result in part from constitutive variations in cellular cytolytic and reversible cytostatic responses to lymphotoxin.

Species specificity of guinea pig and human lymphotoxin colony inhibitory activity

The species specificity of lymphotoxin colony inhibitory activity was measured by in vitro colony growth of neoplastic and nonneoplastic cells in the presence of lymphotoxin from the same or from a xenogeneic species. Growth of guinea pig, rat, and mouse neoplastically transformed cells was inhibited by guinea pig lymphotoxin. Colony formation of benzo(a)pyrene transformed 104C1 guinea pig cells was inhibited 45% with lymphotoxin at 42 units/ml medium; nontransformed 104 and 118 guinea pigs cell were not inhibited. Alpha L929, a spontaneously transformed mouse cell, was completely inhibited. Dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA) 3T3-D and R4-2 mouse transformed cells were inhibited 40 and 100%, respectively, but parental nontransformed 3T3 cells were not inhibited. DMBA transformed R-2 and R-6 rat cells were inhibited 20 and 40%, respectively, but secondary nontransformed fetal rat cells were unaffected. In contrast, normal human xeroderma pigmentosum, Lesch-Nyhan and 1220 fibroblast cells were inhibited 50-60%. No inhibition of HeLa or RPMI 2650 human tumor cells occurred. HeLa and RPMI 2650 cells, however, were inhibited 30 and 60%, respectively, by human lymphotoxin, but normal human and tumorigenic guinea pig cells were unaffected. Thus, guinea pig and human lymphotoxin exhibit species specific and differential cytotoxicity mechanisms for normal and tumor cells.

Lymphotoxin: an anticarcinogenic lymphokine as measured by inhibition of chemical carcinogen or ultraviolet-irradiation-induced transformation of Syrian hamster cells

Syrian-hamster-derived lymphotoxin inhibits benzo(a)pyrene and ultraviolet carcinogen-induced in vitro morphologic transformation of diploid secondary passage hamster embryo cells. When lymphotoxin is added up to 4 days post carcinogen, the reduction in the frequency of morphologic transformation 6 days after carcinogen treatment varies directly with lymphotoxin concentration. The frequency of transformation does not change following re-feeding with lymphotoxin-free medium and incubation for 6 additional days. Furthermore, transformation by ultraviolet is prevented when cells are pulsed with lymphotoxin for as few as 6 hours after irradiation. Thus, lymphotoxin has the potential to irreversibly inhibit the first recognizable morphologic step of carcinogenesis.

Lymphocyte effector molecules: an vitro production method for obtaining liter volumes of supernatants from mitogen-stimulated human lymphocytes

An in vitro method has been developed utilizing phytohemagglutinin (PHA) activated lymphocytes obtained from human tonsils and adenoids which permit the accumulation of multi-liter quantities of cell-free supernatants containing lymphotoxin and other lymphocyte effector molecules (LEM). An enriched media is employed which contains a large molecular weight, heat stable bovine serum fraction which supports lymphoid cell activation and levels of LEM secretion equal to that of cultures maintained in medium supplemented with whole serum. Elimination of whole serum from the media greatly reduces overall protein concentrations and facilitates concentration and purification studies. Various technical aspects of these cultures have been examined, i.e.: 1) cell concentration, 2) kinetics of LT production over a ten-day period, 3) mitogen dosage, and 4) types of media. Supernatants can be harvested repeatedly from a single culture over the ten day period, thus doubling the yield of LEM collected from a single culture.