Production of interleukin 1 activity by normal human peripheral blood B lymphocytes

Interleukin 1 (IL 1) production by normal human B lymphocytes was investigated. Normal human peripheral blood B lymphocytes were purified by sequential separation with the use of Ficoll-Hypaque gradient centrifugation, sheep red blood cell rosette formation, Percoll gradients, and treatment with monoclonal antibodies (anti-Leu-M1, B73.1, and T101) and complement. Both purified large B lymphocytes (BL) and small B lymphocytes (BS) produced IL 1-like (thymocyte co-mitogenic and fibroblast mitogenic) activities in response to lipopolysaccharide. Maximal production of IL 1 activity by both BL and BS occurred at 48 hr. The m.w. of IL 1 activities from both BL and BS were about 20,000 with high pressure liquid chromatography, and the major isoelectric point of BL- and BS-derived IL 1 activity was 7.0. A rabbit anti-human monocyte IL 1 antiserum inhibited the activity of B cell-derived IL 1, suggesting antigenic similarities of monocyte- and B lymphocyte-derived IL 1 moieties. These data suggest that normal B lymphocyte-derived IL 1 activity is biochemically and immunologically similar to monocyte-derived IL 1.