Functional interleukin-2 receptor on a Tac negative human leukaemia T-cell line

Cell line PER-423 was derived from the cells of a patient with an immature acute T-lymphoblastic leukaemia and the growth of this human cell line is strictly dependent on interleukin-2 (IL-2). PER-423 cells express the p75 (beta) subunit of the IL-2 receptor (IL-2R beta), while the p55 chain (IL-2R alpha) is not detectable by immunofluorescence. The analysis of the IL-2R revealed that it is of intermediate affinity and the median effective IL-2 concentration for PER-423 cells (EC50 value) was determined to be 1.44 +/- 0.29 nM. Chemical crosslinking studies showed that the receptor consists of one polypeptide of approximately 95 kDa as well as a doublet of 70 kDa and 60 kDa and does not include the IL-2R alpha-chain. The steady-state mRNA level for the p75 subunit was similar to that present in a cell line expressing an IL-2R alpha+ beta+, while only traces for the alpha-chain were detectable. PER-423 cells can be induced to express the alpha-chain of the IL-2R on the cell surface, concomitant with a much reduced EC50 level. Since cell line PER-423 is functionally dependent on IL-2, it provides an ideal model for IL-2 signal transduction studies and for investigations focusing on the requirements for ligand binding vs activation.