Induced differentiation of a B cell lymphoma with known antigen specificity

We have previously described a murine B-cell lymphoma, CH12, the cells of which bear surface IgM reactive with sheep erythrocytes (SRbc) and which could differentiate to secrete hemolytic antibody. The question addressed in this paper was whether differentiation of CH12 cells could be influenced by interaction with regulatory T cells and antigen. If so, we wanted to know whether the conditions required differed from those known to govern similar interactions with normal B cells. We had two reasons for wanting to answer these questions. First, we wondered whether CH12 could be used as a clonal population of indicator cells to study the regulation of B cell differentiation and, second, we wanted to know the extent to which these neoplastic cells were still responsive to normal regulatory signals. The first addresses a major difficulty which must be faced in studies of normal B cell differentiation: to what extent is the interpretation limited by heterogeneity of the B cells used? The second relates to the nature of neoplasia and the possibility that neoplastic cells might be rendered harmless by inducing terminal differentiation. CH12 is one of a series of transplantable B cell lymphomas which arose in B10.H-2aH-4b p/Wts (2a4b) mice, following intense immunization with SRbc. It is a monoclonal tumor, all the cells of which bear membrane IgM(kappa) of a single idiotype, reactive with sheep and chicken Rbc and with bromelain-treated autologous mouse Rbc. The cells express KkAkEk and Dd antigens appropriate to the H-2a haplotype. During the latter stages of growth in vivo or in vitro, a small proportion (less than 3%) of the cells differentiate to secrete hemolytic antibody as measured by the Cunningham assay for plaque forming cells (PFC). We cultured CH12 cells for 3 or 4 days, together with antigen and spleen cells from primed animals, and assayed for PFC induction. Differentiation was induced by spleen cells from SRbc primed 2a4b mice in the presence of SRbc or ChRbc but not rabbit or human erythrocytes. Activity was depleted by treatment of the spleen cells with anti-Thy-1 or anti-Lyt-1 but not anti-Lyt-2 plus complement. Helper cells could also be induced by priming 2a4b mice with ChRbc but not rabbit or human Rbc. Neither of these last two would induce differentiation of CH12, even when both homologous antigen and SRbc were present in the cultures.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)