In vivo retrovirus-mediated herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase gene therapy approach for adult T cell leukemia in a rat model

We have previously demonstrated that human T-lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I) tax-expressing human T cell lines are selectively eliminated in the presence of aciclovir, using a retroviral vector carrying the herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase (HSV TK) gene under the control of the long terminal repeat (LTR) of HTLV-I. Based on these findings in vitro, we investigated whether this system could also be effective in vivo, using a rat model. Following infection of the HTLV-I-transformed and tax-expressing rat T cell line TARS-1 with this retrovirus (LNLTK virus), high levels of HSV TK expression were observed and resulted in increased susceptibility to ganciclovir (GCV). Tumors were generated by subcutaneous injection of TARS-1 in newborn syngeneic WKA/H rats. While the tumors derived from infected TARS-1 cells with control virus, as well as uninfected cells, continued to grow in all the rats with or without administration of GCV, those derived from LNLTK-infected cells exhibited dramatic regression upon GCV treatment. These results indicate that the HTLV-I LTR-HSV TK system also causes selective elimination of HTLV-I-transformed, tax-expressing T cells in vivo. Therefore, our present study may provide a rationale for clinical gene therapy against adult T cell leukemia.

Serial transplantation of adult T cell leukemia cells into severe combined immunodeficient mice

The precise mechanism of the neoplastic cell growth of adult T cell leukemia (ATL) still remains unclear. In the present study, we have succeeded in serial transplantation of ATL cells from a patient into severe combined immunodeficient (SCID) mice. In this model, we found that only a leukemic cell clone from an ATL patient could be successively transplanted into SCID mice, although it was difficult to maintain leukemic cell clones in vitro, suggesting that the microenvironment provided by SCID mice is suitable for leukemic cell growth. We could not detect human T cell leukemia virus type I (HTLV-I) mRNA or interleukin 2 (IL-2) mRNA in either the tumor cells growing in mice or the original leukemic cells. Thus, it appears that neither HTLV-I viral expression nor the IL-2 autocrine mechanism is directly involved in the neoplastic cell growth of fresh ATL cells as well as HTLV-I-infected cell lines, at least in SCID mice. In addition, we could passage frozen cells and obtain a large number of expanded leukemic cells in this model. Such a serial transplantation model, which can avoid the changes in the nature of leukemic cells that are frequently observed in in vitro culture, and which can propagate leukemic cell clones, would be very suitable not only to study the mechanism of neoplastic cell growth, but also to test potential therapeutic agents for ATL.

Detection of homing, proliferation, and infiltration sites of adult T cell leukemia cells in severe combined immunodeficiency mice using radiometric techniques

To clarify the mechanism of in vivo proliferation of adult T cell leukemia (ATL) cells, we examined the organ distribution of ATL-43T cell line cells derived from original leukemic cells in severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) mice using radiometric techniques. First, we injected 111In-oxine-labeled ATL-43T cells into SCID and CB17 mice. On day 6, significant accumulation of radioactivity was found in the spleen and thymus of SCID mice (33.3 +/- 9.4 and 10.0 +/- 3.6% injected dose/g of tissue [%ID/g], respectively) in comparison with that in CB17 mice (19.1 +/- 2.5 and 3.7 +/- 0.9%ID/g, respectively). Next, we injected radiolabeled anti-Tac monoclonal antibody (MoAb) recognizing human interleukin-2 receptor (IL-2R) alpha chain or isotype-matched control MoAb RPC5 in SCID mice bearing ATL-43T cells 4 weeks after cell inoculation. The amounts of radioactivity found in the spleen and thymus of SCID mice injected with 125I-labeled anti-Tac MoAb (22.5 +/- 6.9 and 22.8 +/- 9.6 %ID/g, respectively) were significantly higher than those in the corresponding organs of SCID mice injected with 125I-labeled RPC5 MoAb (12.0 +/- 5.1 and 7.5 +/- 4.6 %ID/g, respectively). Similar results were obtained with 111In-labeled anti-Tac MoAb. These results were consistent with the histological findings of SCID mice bearing ATL-43T cells, indicating that ATL-43T cells infiltrated preferentially into the lymphoid organs, such as the spleen and thymus, and proliferated there. Thus, the radiometric techniques employed in this study were very useful to evaluate the proliferation sites of ATL-43T cells in SCID mice. Furthermore, this murine model could give us an opportunity to test the feasibility of therapeutic application of radiolabeled anti-Tac MoAb.

Improvement of gelatin particle agglutination test for detection of anti-HTLV-I antibody

Partial modifications of antigen components were made to improve the gelatin particle agglutination (PA) test for the detection of antibodies against human T cell leukemia virus type-I. Envelope glycoproteins prepared by lentil lectin affinity chromatography were further added to the purified viral antigens to be coated on the gelatin particles. Comparative studies with a conventional PA test kit (Serodia ATLA) and indirect immunofluorescence assay showed that the specificity and sensitivity of the new PA test were increased and that abnormal agglutination such as the prozone phenomenon was abolished by this improvement.

Interleukin-2 receptor beta-chain (p70-75) expressed on leukemic cells from adult T cell leukemia patients

To determine whether the interleukin-2 receptor (IL-2R) beta-chain (p70-75) is expressed on leukemic cells from patients with adult T cell leukemia (ATL) as well as alpha-chain (p55, Tac), we performed radiolabeled interleukin-2 (IL-2) binding assay, chemical crosslinking of radiolabeled IL-2 and flow cytometric analysis using a newly-developed anti-IL-2R beta-chain antibody. The results showed that leukemic cells from all the 12 ATL patients we examined expressed the IL-2R beta-chain together with the alpha-chain whereas there was no detectable beta-chain expression on unstimulated peripheral blood CD4(+) T cells from healthy volunteers. Southern blot analysis revealed that this abnormal expression was not caused by the structural change of IL-2R beta-chain gene. Though leukemic cells from all ATL patients examined expressed high-affinity IL-2Rs, leukemic cells from only 25% of all ATL patients proliferated in response to IL-2. These results showing abnormal expression of IL-2R beta-chain on leukemic cells from ATL patients (ATL cells) suggest a close association between HTLV-I infection and abnormal beta-chain expression as well as alpha-chain expression.

Expression of cytokine mRNA in leukemic cells from adult T cell leukemia patients

HTLV-I infection of peripheral mature T cells appears to induce the expression of cellular genes including those of some cytokines and their receptors. We examined the expression of interleukin-1 alpha (IL-1 alpha), IL-1 beta, IL-2, IL-3, IL-4 and granulocyte/macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) at the mRNA level in fresh leukemic cells from 20 adult T cell leukemia patients to see whether there is any association between cytokine expression and HTLV-I expression and between their expression and clinical manifestations such as hypercalcemia or neutrophilia. IL-1 alpha, IL-1 beta and IL-3 expression was observed in 3, 7 and 1 of 20 cases examined, respectively. However, there seemed to be no association between IL-1 expression and clinical manifestations. IL-2, IL-4 and GM-CSF mRNA expression was not detected. HTLV-I viral RNA expression was detected only in one case in which IL-3 mRNA was expressed in both peripheral blood and lymph node cells and a relatively high proportion of leukemic cells expressed IL-2 receptor (p55, Tac). Thus, in the present study we could not find any correlation between cytokine expression and HTLV-I expression in peripheral blood fresh leukemic cells except in one unusual case.

Multi-step carcinogenesis model for adult T-cell leukemia

The age-specific occurrence of adult T-cell leukemia (ATL) was analyzed using 357 cases collected during nationwide surveys carried out between 1982 and 1985 in Japan. A simple Weibull distribution function fitted well as a model. The mode of ATL onset was log-linear in this model and the curves for males and females overlapped completely. The presence of age-dependent accumulation of leukemogenic events within human T-cell leukemia virus type 1-immortalized T cells was suggested prior to the development of ATL, and the approximate number of independent leukemogenic events in ATL is estimated to be five. This stochastic analysis supported a multi-step carcinogenesis as an appropriate model for ATL.

Expression of CR2 (C3d receptor) on the cell membranes of adult T cell leukemia

MT-2 cells, which produce human T-cell lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I), are known to have a complement receptor. We have established that the complement receptor is CR2 which binds C3d on immune complexes but not CR1. CR2 was also detected on ATL-3I cells but no complement receptor was detected on ATL-1K cells which lack ATL antigen (ATLA). Since CR2 is not detectable on normal T lymphocytes, the presence of CR2 on some ATL cells might suggest that ATL cells were derived from a particular minor lineage of T cells, or HTLV-I has a capacity to induce CR2, which has been demonstrated to be an a-type growth factor for B lymphocytes and to be a receptor for Epstein-Barr virus.

A soluble-factor(s) secreted by a human skin cancer cell line supports clonal growth of adult T-cell leukemia cells

Leukemic cells from four out of eight patients with adult T-cell leukemia (ATL) were successfully grown by cocultivation with HSC-I cells, a human skin cancer cell line, in the presence of interleukin-2. Three of these four cultures of growing cells showed rearrangement of the T-cell receptor beta-chain gene like the original leukemic cells in vivo, and also showed conservation of the patterns of HTLV-I integration of the original leukemic cells in vivo. Cell-to-cell contact between HSC-I cells and leukemic cells was not necessary for growth of the leukemic cells. The results indicate that some soluble growth factor secreted by HSC-I cells and interleukin-2 are required for the in vitro growth of leukemic cells from some patients with adult T-cell leukemia.

Adult T cell leukemia-like disease experimentally induced in rabbits

An HTLV-I-transformed T cell line, obtained from the peripheral blood of a virus-infected (B/J X Chbb:HM) F1 rabbit, was able to kill syngeneic newborn rabbits within 7 days, when inoculated intraperitoneally at a dose of 1 X 10(8) cells. Inoculation of 1 X 10(7) cells killed or rendered moribund 50% of inoculated animals, while surviving animals exhibited cell-mediated cytotoxic activities against the transformed cells. The peripheral blood leukocyte counts increased in all surviving animals, in association with appearance of abnormal lymphocytes with convoluted or lobulated nuclei. Pathological examination of animals that died one week post-inoculation revealed no tumors in the abdominal cavity, but accumulation of ascites containing abnormal lymphocytes. Histological examination showed leukemic infiltration in the liver, lungs, spleen and mesenteric lymph nodes. The same cell line was also able to kill syngeneic adult rabbits in 8-10 days when inoculated intravenously, but not intraperitoneally, at a dose of 1 X 10(8) cells. Leukemic infiltration was observed in the major organs of these animals. Adult animals which were already virus carriers were resistant to this lethal inoculation. This rabbit ATL-like disease may prove to be useful as an experimental model for acute adult T cell leukemia.

Appearance of antibodies against phosphotyrosine and tyrosine phosphorylation of lymphocyte proteins in human T cell leukemia virus type-I infection

Antibodies reactive with O-phosphotyrosine (Ptyr) were detected in all of 56 patients with adult T cell leukemia (ATL) with high titers ranging from 1:1,600 to 1:25,000 in 91% of the patients, whereas 97% of 70 healthy subjects showed titers of 1:400 or less. Ptyr-containing proteins (molecular weights of 70k, 45k and 30k) were detected in peripheral lymphocytes from patients with ATL. These proteins might be involved as antigens in the induction of such antibodies.