Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

The analysis of T lymphocytes infiltrating tissues afflicted by autoimmune diseases may provide major clues towards understanding the pathogenesis of such diseases. Currently the best approach to studying heterogeneous populations such as T lymphocytes involves long-term culture and cloning. In order to grow and clone T lymphocytes, regular restimulation with the specific antigen is essential, otherwise growth will stop and/or specificity may be lost. In autoimmune diseases the antigens involved in triggering the immunological reaction of T cells are usually unknown. Therefore an alternative way of stimulating T lymphocytes without loss of specificity is clearly needed. Here we describe the cloning and expansion of antigen-specific T cell clones from the blood of a healthy donor to sizeable numbers of cells (greater than 10(8)) by means of anti-CD3 monoclonal antibody and recombinant IL-2. The results obtained showed that this approach can be used to clone and 'expand' T lymphocytes that retain antigen specificity over a prolonged period, in this case over 10 weeks. This technique has been used to clone and expand T lymphocytes infiltrating the affected tissues in a variety of autoimmune disorders such as Hashimoto's thyroiditis, Graves' disease, and rheumatoid arthritis, and is an efficient method of propagating T cells, by mimicking the antigenic stimulus.

Original publication

DOI

10.1111/j.1365-3083.1988.tb02321.x

Type

Journal article

Journal

Scand J Immunol

Publication Date

01/1988

Volume

27

Pages

35 - 46

Keywords

Antibodies, Monoclonal, Antigen-Presenting Cells, Antigens, Differentiation, T-Lymphocyte, Antigens, Viral, Arthritis, Rheumatoid, Autoimmune Diseases, Cells, Cultured, Clone Cells, Humans, Influenza A virus, Interleukin-2, T-Lymphocytes, Thyroiditis, Autoimmune