von Willebrand factor interacts with malignant hematopoietic cell lines: evidence for the presence of specific binding sites and modification of von Willebrand factor structure and function.

von Willebrand factor (vWf) mediates the adherence of platelets to exposed vascular subendothelium. During hematogenous metastasis in certain model systems, platelets are also deposited at endothelial surfaces in heterotypic aggregates with tumor cells. The role of vWf in this metastatic event was investigated by examining the interaction between purified iodine 125-labeled vWf and the human tumor cell lines, U937 and CA46. vWf-tumor cell binding was specific, partially reversible, and saturable at 4 degrees C. At 37 degrees C, however, U937 cell binding sites could not be saturated, suggesting endocytosis as a possible mechanism of interaction. When constant amounts of vWf were added, interactions with tumor cells were complete after 60 minutes, but rapidly dissociated over the next 2 hours. With the addition of specific proteinase inhibitors, vWf remained in stable association with tumor cells throughout a 3-hour time course. Loss of vWf antigen in supernatant samples complemented the 125I-labeled vWf bound directly to tumor cells. However, disproportionately large reductions in vWf functional activity were observed and correlated with alterations in multimeric structure. These data suggest an initial binding of vWf to some tumor cells, followed by a time-dependent loss of structural and functional integrity. VWf may contribute to tumor cell arrest within the microvasculature and may influence other tumor cell-subendothelial interactions as the adhesive function of vWf is subsequently modified.

Phase I/II trial of thymosin fraction 5 and thymosin alpha one in HTLV-III seropositive subjects.

Forty-two male homosexuals and/or hemophiliacs with depressed helper/suppressor T-cell ratios were treated with one of three different doses of thymosin fraction 5 (TF5, 30, 60, and 120 mg), or a single dose of thymosin Alpha One (TA1, 600 micrograms), by daily subcutaneous (SQ) administration for 10 weeks, followed twice weekly for 4 weeks. No major toxicity was noted for any of the preparations tested, although three subjects treated with TF5 had to discontinue therapy because of severe local skin reactions. Of the doses and preparations tested, only 60 mg TF5 was capable of significantly improving (p less than 0.02) mean T-cell lymphoproliferative responses to alloantigens (MLR) for six HTLV-III seropositive subjects who were abnormal prior to therapy. Peripheral blood lymphocytes from subjects treated with 60 mg TF5 also exhibited a transient restoration of mean mitogen-induced interleukin-2 (IL-2) production to normal. No effects were observed with any of the four treatment regimens on absolute helper T-cell numbers, NK activity, antibody titers to HTLV-III, or in the expression of a variety of surrogate markers for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Four of the six seropositive subjects treated with 60 mg TF5 exhibited a return to depressed baseline MLR, after switching to twice weekly injections. With a median follow-up time of 20 months, six cases of AIDS developed. However, none of the five subjects whose MLR improved following treatment progressed to AIDS. We recommend daily subcutaneous (SQ) administration of 60 mg (40 mg/m2) TF5 for use in combined modality trials, along with drugs capable of suppressing replication of HTLV-III.

Altered mononuclear phagocyte function in mice treated with the lymphocytosis promoting factor of Bordetella pertussis.

Lymphocytosis promoting factor (LPF) is a protein toxin which may have a role in the pathogenesis of pertussis. Previous results from our laboratory demonstrated that LPF inhibited random migration and chemotaxis of resident peritoneal macrophages, but had little or no effect on macrophage viability, adherence, superoxide anion release, or Fc-mediated phagocytosis. The current experiments have examined mononuclear phagocyte function in mice treated with LPF. Intravenous injection of mice with 200 ng LPF induced a prolonged monocytosis which peaked with a five-fold increase on the fifth day after injection. LPF (200 ng) also inhibited the increase in peritoneal macrophages induced by the intraperitoneal injection of either thioglycolate broth, phytohemagglutinin, or paraffin oil. The LPF-induced monocytosis on the fifth day after injections was not altered by the intraperitoneal injection of thioglycolate broth. LPF doses sufficient to induce leukocytosis (greater than or equal to 25 ng) significantly inhibited the increase in peritoneal macrophages induced by an inflammatory agent. These observed in vitro and in vivo effects of LPF were lost when LPF was subjected to treatments that eliminated its leukocytosis-promoting activity. The results indicate that coincident with an LPF-induced monocytosis is a reduction in the number of macrophages at a site of inflammation. An in vivo inhibition of mononuclear phagocyte migration would explain both of these effects of LPF, and is consistent with the in vitro inhibition of macrophage migration. The results suggest that a possible role for LPF in pathogenesis is the inhibition of macrophage migration to the site of Bordetella pertussis infection.

Lymphocytosis-promoting factor of Bordetella pertussis alters mononuclear phagocyte circulation and response to inflammation.

Previous results from our laboratory demonstrated that purified lymphocytosis-promoting factor (LPF), a protein toxin from Bordetella pertussis, inhibited the migration of murine macrophages in vitro. The current study examined the in vivo effects of LPF on mononuclear phagocyte circulation and response to an inflammatory stimulus. Intravenous injection of mice with 200 ng of LPF produced a prolonged monocytosis which peaked with a fivefold increase on day 5 after injection. LPF (200 ng) also inhibited by more than 75% the increase in peritoneal inflammatory macrophages induced by intraperitoneal injection of thioglycolate broth, phytohemagglutinin, or paraffin oil. The inhibition was significant when thioglycolate was given 1 h or 2 or 4 days after LPF but not when thioglycolate was given 2 or 4 days before LPF. The LPF-induced monocytosis on day 5 after injections was not altered by the intraperitoneal injection of thioglycolate broth. The leukocytosis-promoting and macrophage-inhibiting properties of LPF were the same in N:NIH(S) and C3H/HeJ mice. Treatments of LPF that reduced the leukocytosis-promoting effect of LPF also reduced the ability of LPF to inhibit the macrophage response. LPF doses sufficient to induce leukocytosis (greater than or equal to 25 ng) significantly inhibited the thioglycolate-induced increase in peritoneal macrophages. The results indicate that coincident with an LPF-induced monocytosis is a reduction in the number of mononuclear phagocytes at a site of inflammation. An in vivo inhibition of mononuclear phagocyte migration would explain both effects of LPF and is consistent with the in vitro inhibition of macrophage migration by LPF.

In vitro inhibition of murine macrophage migration by Bordetella pertussis lymphocytosis-promoting factor.

Lymphocytosis promoting factor (LPF) of Bordetella pertussis is a protein toxin which may have a role in the pathogenesis of pertussis. Since macrophages have an important role in the control of respiratory infections, the in vitro effects of LPF on macrophages from C3H/HeN and C3H/HeJ mice and on a murine macrophage-like cell line, RAW264, were examined. LPF inhibited random migration of resident peritoneal macrophages as well as the chemotaxis of peritoneal macrophages and the cell line. Fifty percent inhibition of chemotaxis occurred at 0.2 to 0.3 ng of LPF per ml for the macrophages and at 1 to 2 ng of LPF per ml for the cell line. When LPF was either heated at 80 degrees C for 5 min or premixed with specific antibodies, it failed to inhibit migration. At 20 ng/ml, LPF inhibited chemotaxis by more than 80% and also decreased Fc-mediated phagocytosis by 25 to 35%. At this dose, LPF was not a chemoattractant for murine macrophages and did not reduce macrophage viability, adherence, or opsonized zymosan-stimulated superoxide release. When LPF-treated macrophages were added to tissue culture dishes and then examined microscopically after 4 h, the LPF-treated cells adhered but failed to spread and elongate as well as control macrophages. These data indicate that LPF specifically inhibits macrophage migration in vitro and suggest that a possible role for LPF in pathogenesis is to inhibit migration of macrophages to the site of B. pertussis infection.

Recognition and response to alloantigens in vivo. I. Negative and positive selection of MLR reactivity in murine peripheral blood lymphocytes to major histocompatibility complex and Mls antigens.

Specific mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR) responsiveness to allogeneic major histocompatibility complex (MHC), or minor lymphocyte-stimulating (Mls) determinants, was depleted in the peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) obtained from mice 24 to 48 hr after i.v. injection of 5 to 7.5 X 10(7) MHC or Mlsa-incompatible spleen cells, respectively. Results of cell mixture experiments suggest that the generation of suppressor cells was not the explanation for this specific reduction in MLR proliferation occurring with these PBL responder cells. To gain additional insight into parameters involved in the recognition of allodeterminants in vivo, experimental manipulations of the host environment and donor cell inoculum utilized in the negative selection procedure were employed. For example, removal of the spleen in the recipient animal, an anatomic site in which injected allogeneic cells and corresponding host antigen-reactive cells (ARC) are trapped, still permitted the specific depletion in murine PBL of host ARC for donor foreign MHC antigens. This finding may implicate other sites such as the liver where unprimed host alloreactive clones are trapped. In addition, irradiation of allogeneic donor cells significantly reduced their capacity to trap alloreactive T cell clones in vivo, whereas heat treatment of the donor cells completely eliminated this ability, even though the Ia determinants were still expressed, measured by flow cytometry. After the negative selection period, kinetic analysis of proliferation showed that 3, 4, or 5 days after injection of MHC-incompatible allogeneic spleen cells, the PBL of the recipient showed specific hyperresponsiveness to the MHC-haplotype of the donor cells. Interestingly, these primed PBL responder cells had the volume distribution of small resting cells; thoracic duct lymphocytes (TDL), positively selected by adoptive transfer of T cells to irradiated semiallogeneic recipients, are reported to be mainly blast cells. In contrast to the MLR hyperresponsiveness that results from priming with MHC-incompatible splenocytes, PBL, obtained at these later time points from mice primed with Mlsa-incompatible, H-2-compatible splenocytes, showed complete unresponsiveness in MLR to these Mlsa-bearing stimulator cells, as well as some nonspecific reduction in proliferation to MHC-incompatible stimulator cells regardless of their Mls genotype.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Adoptive immunochemotherapy of a transplantable AKR leukemia (K36).

Adoptive immunotherapy of a transplantable AKR leukemia (K36) was carried out as an adjunct to cytoxan chemotherapy using normal allogeneic H-2-incompatible spleen cells as well as sensitized H-2-matched allogeneic spleen cells. A significant therapeutic effect was obtained with cytoxan and allogeneic C57BL/6 splenocytes, demonstrating the potential use of the graft-versus-host reaction. Utilizing specific adoptive immunochemotherapy, a maximum effect was found with splenocytes from allogeneic but H-2-compatible CBA/J mice immunized against an allogeneic Gross-virus-induced lymphoma (E female G2). This therapeutic effect was most likely the result of prior sensitization of donor lymphocytes to common virus-associated tumor antigens.

The xenogeneic effect. III. Induction of cell-mediated cytotoxicity by alloantigen-stimulated thymocytes in the presence of xenogeneic reconstitution factor.

A supernatant from human mixed leukocyte cultures (MLC), Xenogeneic Reconstitution Factor (XRF), was added to one-way murine MLC. This supernatant greatly enhances the generation of cytotoxic cells from C57BL/6 or DBA/2 responder thymocytes, as assayed by a standard 51Cr-release assay. This enhancement is shown 1) to be dependent upon the presence of BDF1 semi-allogeneic stimulator cells and 2) to result in the generation of cytotoxic cells that are specific for the H-2 type of the stimulating alloantigen. In some experiments, alloantigen-stimulated murine spleen cells, when cultured with XRF showed increased induction of cell-mediated cytotoxicity. These experiments show that XRF contains a cytotoxic-cell activating factor(s) that is functionally similar to those found in murine-derived supernatants, and that this factor can participate in the generation of cytotoxic cells from precursors present in the murine thymus.

Listeria cell wall fraction: a B cell mitogen.

A crude cell wall-rich fraction of Listeria monocytogenes contains a substance or substances which cause blast transformation and thymidine incorporation by mouse spleen cells. The substance, Listeria cell wall fraction (LCWF), is a B cell mitogen in the mouse. It is not endotoxin, in that it stimulates B cells in C3H/HeJ mice. It is weakly mitogenic for rat spleen cells and not at all mitogenic for human peripheral blood or tonsil lymphocytes. Thus, it is dissimilar to both endotoxin and purified protein derivative (PPD) in its spectrum of activity. A cell wall-associated mitogen may play an early role in Listeria resistance.

Oncornaviral protein modulation in mouse uterine tissue by estrogen (38467).

Treatment of ovariectomized NIH Swiss mice with estrogens elevated the level of the murine leukemia virus group specific protein and the activity of an RNA-directed DNA polymerase in the uterus. The extent that these markers were raised was dependent on the relative biological potency of the estrogen and on the time interval following treatment. Increases in the levels of both viral marker proteins were evident within 24 hr of treatment and were highest at 48 hr. Subsequently, viral protein levels declined to pretreatment levels.