Growth Factor Independence 1 (Gfi1) Is An Essential Factor for the Development of Lymphoma

Blood ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 112 (11) ◽  
pp. 297-297
Author(s):  
Cyrus Khandanpour ◽  
Ehssan Sharif- Askari ◽  
Paul Jolicoeur ◽  
Ulrich Duehrsen ◽  
Tarik Moroy

Abstract Hematopoietic differentiation is controlled to a large extent by a network of transcription factors and chromatin modifiers and disruption of this system can lead to leukemia or lymphoma. One of the transcription factor genes, which is aberrantly expressed in human T-cell lymphoma is Growth Factor Independence 1 (Gfi1). Since over expression of Gfi1 can accelerate experimentally induced T-cell tumors in mice, it is likely that Gfi1 plays a crucial role in establishing or maintaining lymphoid neoplasms. To test this hypothesis we have used, N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea (ENU) to induce T-cell tumors in WT mice (Gfi1+/+), Gfi1-deficient mice (Gfi1−/−) or mice transgenically over expressing Gfi1 under the control of the pan-hematopoietic vav-promoter (vav-Gfi1). As expected, most of Gfi1+/+ mice (25/27) developed T-cell tumors and acute myeloid leukemia within 118 days. Similarly, vav-Gfi1 mice (10/10) developed T-cell lymphoma, but within a shorter latency period (88 days). In contrast, only 3/14 Gfi1−/− mice developed hematopoietic neoplasia with a prolonged median latency period of 126 days. Other approaches using infection of newborn mice with Moloney Murine leukemia virus (MoMuLV) to induce T-cell lymphoma or co expression of an Eμ-myc transgene to induce B-cell lymphoma showed a similar dependency of tumor formation on the presence and expression of Gfi1. Closer analysis of tumors forming in Gfi1−/− mice demonstrated that Gfi1 deficiency correlated with a smaller size of the tumors and a noticeably increased rate of cell death within the tumor samples. This pointed to a potential role of Gfi1 in the regulation of apoptosis. To explore this hypothesis, we exposed both thymocytes and hematopoietic stem cells (Lin-, Sca1+, c-kit+, LSK) to ENU or gamma-irradiation in vitro. We could observe that Gfi1−/− thymocytes and stem cells (LSK cells) have a higher rate of cell death following exposure to these DNA damage inducing agents in vitro than the WT controls. To validate these results, we recapitulated these experiments in vivo. Gfi1−/− mice exhibited severe bone marrow failure and a more pronounced loss of hematopoietic stem cells (LSK) than Gfi1+/+ mice after ENU treatment or gamma irradiation in vivo. To explore this mechanism on the molecular basis we evaluated expression of the different pro and antiapoptotic components in Gfi1+/+ and Gfi1−/− thymocytes after irradiation. Strikingly, Gfi1−/− thymocytes expressed higher levels of the pro-apoptotic proteins such as Bax and Noxa and lower levels of the CDK inhibitor p21WAF than WT thymocytes following induction of DNA damage. Our model would be that Gfi1 represents a new regulator in the cellular response to DNA damage in the hematopoietic system by inhibiting different proapoptotic factors. We propose that Gfi1 is essential for the development of lymphoid and potentially myeloid neoplasms by inhibiting apoptosis. We suggest that Gfi1 could represent a possible new target structure for therapeutic intervention.

Blood ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 138 (Supplement 1) ◽  
pp. 3986-3986
Author(s):  
George A. Ward ◽  
Simone Jueliger ◽  
Martin Sims ◽  
Matthew Davis ◽  
Adam Boxall ◽  
...  

Abstract Introduction: Tolinapant is a potent, non-peptidomimetic antagonist of cIAP1, cIAP2 and XIAP. In ongoing Phase 2 trial (NCT02503423), tolinapant has shown activity against highly pre-treated peripheral and cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (Samaniego et al., Hematological Oncology, 2019). Hypomethylating agents (HMAs) have also shown clinical responses in some subsets of PTCL (Lemonnier et al., Blood, 2019). Both HMAs and IAP antagonists show immunomodulatory anti-cancer potential in pre-clinical studies. A Phase 1 clinical study investigating the combination of tolinapant and ASTX727 (oral decitabine) in AML is currently in progress (NCT04155580). Here we have undertaken a biomarker-driven approach to understand the potential for induction of immunogenic forms of cell death (ICD), such as necroptosis, by rational combination of our clinical compounds in pre-clinical models of T-cell lymphoma (TCL). Methods: On-target effects of decitabine and tolinapant were measured by analysing levels of DNMT1 and cIAP1, respectively, by Western blotting in mouse and human cell lines. Levels of key apoptosis, necroptosis or pyroptosis biomarkers were also monitored by Western blotting to provide evidence of lytic cell death contributing to a potential immune response. RIPK3- or MLKL-knockout cell lines were generated by CRISPR to demonstrate involvement of necroptosis in drug-induced cell death in a T-cell lymphoma cell line (BW5147.G.1.4) in vitro. Cell death was monitored by viability (CellTiterGlo) or real-time microscopy (IncuCyte) assays. Levels of key inflammatory mediators or DAMPS were measured in tissue culture supernatants and mouse plasma by Luminex assay (Ampersand). Results: Combined treatment of tolinapant and decitabine led to depletion of cIAP1 and DNMT1 in TCL cell lines, demonstrating on-target activity of tolinapant and decitabine, respectively. The combination of tolinapant and decitabine acted synergistically in mouse and human T-cell lymphoma cell lines to reduce viability in proliferation assays. Necroptosis was induced by decitabine or tolinapant alone in mouse TCL cell lines with robust activation of the RIPK1/RIPK3/MLKL necroptosis pathway when caspase activity was inhibited, and the combination of both agents enhanced loss of viability. Furthermore, we demonstrated decitabine treatment led to re-expression of both RIPK3 and MLKL in mouse cell lines, supporting published evidence that methylation can silence these key biomarkers (Koo et al., Cell Research, 2015; Koch et al., Neoplasia, 2021). Enhanced release of chemokine, cytokine and DAMPs was demonstrated with the combination of agents in vitro and in vivo. By removal of key necroptosis pathway components using CRISPR, we confirmed the importance of this lytic cell death pathway by demonstrating that RIPK3 -/- and MLKL -/- T-cell lymphoma (BW5147.G.1.4) cell lines had reduced necroptosis potential after treatment with tolinapant or decitabine alone or in combination; and demonstrate reduced release of inflammatory mediators in vitro. Finally, our in vivo evaluation of the combination of agents in mouse syngeneic models suggested that increased anti-tumour activity and immune-potentiating systemic biomarker modulation can be achieved with a tolerated dosing regimen of both compounds. Conclusion: These data demonstrate that decitabine enhances immunogenic cell death induced by tolinapant through the re-expression of genes in the necroptotic pathway. This finding provides strong rationale to explore this combination clinically. Disclosures Sims: Astex Pharmaceuticals: Current Employment. Davis: Astex Pharmacueticals: Current Employment. Smyth: Astex Pharmaceuticals: Current Employment.


Blood ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 108 (4) ◽  
pp. 1189-1197 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hua Tang ◽  
Zhenhong Guo ◽  
Minghui Zhang ◽  
Jianli Wang ◽  
Guoyou Chen ◽  
...  

Abstract Regulatory dendritic cells (DCs) have been reported recently, but their origin is poorly understood. Our previous study demonstrated that splenic stroma can drive mature DCs to proliferate and differentiate into regulatory DCs, and their natural counterpart with similar regulatory function in normal spleens has been identified. Considering that the spleen microenvironment supports hematopoiesis and that hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are found in spleens of adult mice, we wondered whether splenic microenvironment could differentiate HSCs into regulatory DCs. In this report, we demonstrate that endothelial splenic stroma induce HSCs to differentiate into a distinct regulatory DC subset with high expression of CD11b but low expression of Ia. CD11bhiIalo DCs secreting high levels of TGF-β, IL-10, and NO can suppress T-cell proliferation both in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, CD11bhiIalo DCs have the ability to potently suppress allo-DTH in vivo, indicating their preventive or therapeutic perspectives for some immunologic disorders. The inhibitory function of CD11bhiIalo DCs is mediated through NO but not through induction of regulatory T (Treg) cells or T-cell anergy. IL-10, which is secreted by endothelial splenic stroma, plays a critical role in the differentiation of the regulatory CD11bhiIalo DCs from HSCs. These results suggest that splenic microenvironment may physiologically induce regulatory DC differentiation in situ.


1994 ◽  
Vol 179 (2) ◽  
pp. 493-502 ◽  
Author(s):  
R Bacchetta ◽  
M Bigler ◽  
J L Touraine ◽  
R Parkman ◽  
P A Tovo ◽  
...  

Transplantation of HLA mismatched hematopoietic stem cells in patients with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) can result in a selective engraftment of T cells of donor origin with complete immunologic reconstitution and in vivo tolerance. The latter may occur in the absence of clonal deletion of donor T lymphocytes able to recognize the host HLA antigens. The activity of these host-reactive T cells is suppressed in vivo, since no graft-vs. -host disease is observed in these human chimeras. Here it is shown that the CD4+ host-reactive T cell clones isolated from a SCID patient transplanted with fetal liver stem cells produce unusually high quantities of interleukin 10 (IL-10) and very low amounts of IL-2 after antigen-specific stimulation in vitro. The specific proliferative responses of the host-reactive T cell clones were considerably enhanced in the presence of neutralizing concentrations of an anti-IL-10 monoclonal antibody, suggesting that high levels of endogenous IL-10 suppress the activity of these cells. These in vitro data correlate with observations made in vivo. Semi-quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis carried out on freshly isolated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of the patient indicated that the levels of IL-10 messenger RNA (mRNA) expression were strongly enhanced, whereas IL-2 mRNA expression was much lower than that in PBMC of healthy donors. In vivo IL-10 mRNA expression was not only high in the T cells, but also in the non-T cell fraction, indicating that host cells also contributed to the high levels of IL-10 in vivo. Patient-derived monocytes were found to be major IL-10 producers. Although no circulating IL-10 could be detected, freshly isolated monocytes of the patient showed a reduced expression of class II HLA antigens. However, their capacity to stimulate T cells of normal donors in primary mixed lymphocyte cultures was within the normal range. Interestingly, similar high in vivo IL-10 mRNA expressions in the T and non-T cell compartment were also observed in three SCID patients transplanted with fetal liver stem cells and in four SCID patients transplanted with T cell-depleted haploidentical bone marrow stem cells. Taken together, these data indicate that high endogenous IL-10 production is a general phenomenon in SCID patients in whom allogenic stem cell transplantation results in immunologic reconstitution and induction of tolerance. Both donor T cells and host accessory cells contribute to these high levels of IL-10, which would suppress the activity of host-reactive T cell in vivo.


Blood ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 116 (21) ◽  
pp. 3937-3937 ◽  
Author(s):  
Enrica Marchi ◽  
Danielle C Bongero ◽  
Matko Kalac ◽  
Luigi Scotto ◽  
Owen A. O'Connor

Abstract Abstract 3937 CHOP and CHOP-like chemotherapy programs remain the most commonly used regimens for the treatment of peripheral T-cell lymphomas (PTCLs) despite often sub-optimal results. Histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACIs) are epigenetic agents known to be active in T-cell lymphoma. Recently romidepsin (R) was approved for patients with relapsed or refractory CTCL. Both R and belinostat (B) are being investigated in patients with relapsed or refractory PTCL. We have previously shown that hypomethylating agents as decitabine (D) produce synergistic interactions with HDACIs in B-cell lymphomas. We investigated the in vitro and in vivo activity of D, R and B alone or in combination in different T-cell lymphoma and leukemia cell lines including CTCL (H9, HH), and T- acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) lines resistant to gamma-secretase inhibitors (GSI) (P12, PF-382). For all cytotoxicity assays, luminescent cell viability was performed using CellTiter-Glo™ followed by acquisition on a Biotek Synergy HT. The IC50s for D, B and R were calculated using the Calcusyn software (Biosoft). Drug: drug interactions were analyzed using the calculation of the relative risk ratios (RRR) based on the GraphPad software (RRR<1 are defining synergism). Apoptosis was assessed by staining with Yo-Pro-1 and propidium iodine followed by FACSCalibur acquisition. Whole cell lysate proteins were extracted and quantified according to Bradford assay. After electrophoresis on a gradient 4–20% SDS-PAGE gels the proteins were transferred to nitrocellulose membrane. After blocking and incubation with the primary and the secondary antibodies, the chemiluminescent agent was added and the x-ray films were exposed to the membranes. The IC50s for belinostat alone at 24, 48 and 72 hours were generally in the nanomolar range: H9: 108.1nM – 35.7nM – 29.1nM; HH: 240.1nM - 67.6nM – 39.01nM; P12: 386.9nM – 99.9nM – 99.8nM; PF 382: 267.1nM – 135nM – 118.3nM. The IC50s for romidepsin alone at 24, 48 and 72 hours were generally in the low nanomolar range: H9: 5nM – 2.1nM – 2.2nM; HH: 14nM – 2.6nM - 2.5nM; P12: 6.2nM – 2.4nM – 2.1nM; PF382: 6.1nM – 1.7nM – 1.5nM. The IC50s for D alone at 72 and 96 hours were in the micromolar range: H9: 7.4uM – 3.7uM; HH: > 20 uM. In the cytotoxicity assays, the combination of D and B or R at 72 hours showed synergism in all the cell lines studied. The most representative RRRs are showed in table 1. Table 1 D 0.5 uM 1uM B (nM) RRR H9 50 0.7 0.7 70 0.6 0.6 100 0.4 0.5 PF 382 150 0.8 0.7 0.5 uM 1 uM R (nM) RRR H9 0.5 0.9 0.9 1 0.8 0.8 2 0.3 0.3 PF 382 1 0.8 0.7 1.5 0.4 0.4 2 0.1 0.1 When H9, HH, P12 and PF382 cell lines were treated with D and B or R for 72 hours, all the combination groups showed significantly more apoptosis than the single drug exposures and controls. Table 2 displays the range of apoptosis induction for B, R and D or for them used in combination and the RRR value after the analysis for the most significant data. Table 2 B D B + D RRR (% Apoptotic + Dead Cells) H9 100nM (22.9%) 500nM (17.9%) 51.5% 0.7 HH 100nM (42.9%) 1uM (46.9%) 61.3% 0.8 P 12 150nM (16%) 1uM (42.7%) 80.1% 0.4 PF 382 100nM (8.3%) 1uM (27.9%) 40.1% 0.8 R D R + D H9 2nM (22.2%) 500nM (17.9%) 63.6% 0.5 HH 2nM (80%) 1uM (46.9%) 89.7% 0.6 P 12 2nM (9.9%) 10uM (58.7%) 98% 0.03 PF 382 2nM (54.5%) 500nM (17.9%) 88.7% 0.2 Increased acetylation of H3 was observed when H9 cells were treated with R alone and synergistically increased after exposing cells to the combination of D + B and D + R. The expression of phosphorylated Stat3 was decreased after exposure of H9 cells to the combination of D and R. Additional interrogation of the effects of this epigenetic therapy on the JAK-STAT signaling pathway are now underway. An in vivo xenograft study in six to eight weeks old female SCID beige mice injected subcutaneously with 2 × 107 HH cells has also begun and will be reported. Mice were separated into different cohorts and treated with intraperitoneal injections of D or B or their combination according to the following schedules: D alone at 1.5 mg/kg on days 1, 5; B alone at 35 mg/Kg/day for 7 days. Collectively, the data suggest that the combination of a hypomethylating agent like D and a HDACI (B and R) are synergistic in in vitro models of human T-cell lymphoma, and may lead to a new platform for the treatment of these diseases. Disclosures: O'Connor: Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc.: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding.


2012 ◽  
Vol 30 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e13569-e13569
Author(s):  
Enrica Marchi ◽  
Matko Kalac ◽  
Danielle Bongero ◽  
Christine McIntosh ◽  
Laura K Fogli ◽  
...  

e13569 Background: CHOP and CHOP-like chemotherapy are the most used regimens for the treatment of peripheral T-cell lymphomas (PTCLs) despite sub-optimal results. Histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACIs) have shown class activity in PTCLs. The interaction between the HDACIs (depsipeptide (R), belinostat (B), vorinostat (V) and panobinostat (P)) and a DNMT inhibitor (decitabine (D) was investigated in vitro, in vivo and at the molecular level in T-cell lymphoma and leukemia cell lines (H9, HH, P12, PF-382). Methods: For cytotoxicity assays, luminescence cell viability assay was used (CellTiter-Glo). Drug:drug interactions were analyzed with relative risk ratios (RRR) based on the GraphPad software (RRR<1 defining synergism). Apoptosis was assessed by Yo-Pro-1 and propidium iodine followed by FACSCalibur acquisition. Gene expression profiling was analyzed using Illumina Human HT-12 v4 Expression BeadChip microarrays and Gene Spring Software for the analysis. Results: The IC50s for B, R, V, P, D and 5-Azacytidine alone were assessed at 24, 48 and 72 hours. In cytotoxicity assays the combination of D plus B, R, V or P at 72 hours showed synergism in all the cell lines (RRRs 0.0007-0.9). All the cell lines were treated with D, B or R for 72 hours and all the combinations showed significantly more apoptosis than the single drug exposures and controls (RRR < 1). In vivo, HH SCID beige mice were treated i.p. for 3 cycles with the vehicle solution, D or B or their combination at increasing dose. The combination cohort showed statistically significant tumor growth inhibition compared to all the other cohorts. Gene expression analysis revealed differentially expressed genes and modulated pathways for each of the single agent treatment and the combination. The effects of the two drugs were largely different (only 39 genes modified in common). Most of the effects induced by the single agent were maintained in the combination group. Interestingly, 944 genes were modulated uniquely by the combination treatment. Conclusions: The combination of a DNMTI and HDACIs is strongly synergistic in vitro, in vivo and at the molecular level in model of T-cell lymphoma and these data will constitute the basis for a phase I-II clinical trials.


Blood ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 138 (Supplement 1) ◽  
pp. 3987-3987
Author(s):  
Wenting Song ◽  
Zhan Chen ◽  
Cunzhen Shi ◽  
Yuyang Gao ◽  
Xiaoyan Feng ◽  
...  

Abstract Natural killer/T cell lymphoma (NKTCL) is a highly aggressive hematological malignancy. However, there is currently no consensus on first-line therapies for refractory/relapsed patients. Chidamide is a self-researched and developed HDACs inhibitor, and when combined with DNA-damaging agents, exhibited a clinical synergistic effect for the treatment of some solid tumors and hematological malignancies. Thus in this study, a series of in vitro and in vivo experiments were conducted to explore the efficacy and potential mechanisms of combined chidamide and etoposide treatment in NKTCL. We demonstrated that chidamide or etoposide alone dose- and time-dependently inhibited the cell viability of NKTCL cell lines, YT, NKYS and KHYG-1. Functional experiments suggested that combined chidamide and etoposide treatment exerted synergistic antiproliferation effect and enhanced cell apoptotic death both in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, the expression of DNA damage related proteins was detected and we also examined the alternations in histone acetylation, cell cycle progression, and mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP). The results suggested that increased histone acetylation, cell cycle arrest at the G2/M phase and loss of MMP, converging to greater DNA damage, might account for the synergism of the combination of chidamide and etoposide in NKTCL. Taken together, our study supplements the clinical application of combining HDACs inhibitors and DNA-damaging agents on treating hematological malignancies but also provide an experimental basis for improved therapeutic efficacy and decreased complications for patients with NKTCL. Figure 1 Figure 1. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mei Mei ◽  
Yingjun Wang ◽  
Wenting Song ◽  
Zhaoming Li ◽  
Qilong Wang ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Natural killer/T-cell lymphoma (NKTCL) is a rare and aggressive subtype of Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. CircRNA has shown great potential to become a biomarker in plasma. In this study, we aimed to determine circRNA for its diagnostic and prognostic value and biological function in NKTCL. Method The circRNA microarray of plasma from NKTCL patients and healthy donors were conducted. The relative expressions of target circRNA were verified by qRT-PCR. We conducted function experiments in vitro and in vivo. Bioinformatics predicted the target miRNA of the target circRNA and the binding site was detected by the dual luciferase report assay. Downstream target protein was predicted and detected by western blot in vitro and immunohistochemistry in vivo. Result By analyzing the plasma circRNA microarrays in NKTCL, 6137 circRNAs were up-regulated and 6190 circRNAs were down-regulated. The relative expressions of circADARB1 were significantly higher in NKTCL patients. The knockdown of circADARB1 inhibited proliferation of NKTCL cells in vitro and in vivo. CircADARB1 could bind to miR-214-3p in the downstream and regulate the expression of p-Stat3. In nude mice tumor tissue, p-Stat3 was under-expressed in the circADARB1 knockdown group. Conclusion CircADARB1 was highly expressed in NKTCL plasma and circADARB1 was a potential biomarker to assist diagnosis and predict the response in NKTCL. CircADARB1 bound up to miR-214-3p and regulated p-Stat3.


Blood ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 110 (11) ◽  
pp. 2221-2221
Author(s):  
Cyrus Khandanpour ◽  
Ulrich Duehrsen ◽  
Tarik Möröy

Abstract Exogenous toxic substances often cause the initiation and development of leukemia and lymphoma by acting as mutagens. N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea (ENU) is a paradigmatic example for such a substance, which introduces point mutations in the genome through DNA damage and repair pathways. ENU is widely used to experimentally induce T-cell lymphomas in mice. We have used ENU to investigate whether the hematopoietic transcription factor Gfi1 is required for lymphomagenesis. The Gfi1 gene was originally discovered as a proviral target gene and a series of experiments with transgenic mice had suggested a role of Gfi1 as a dominant oncogene with the ability to cooperate with Myc and Pim genes in the generation of T-cell lymphoma. In addition, Gfi1 deficient mice showed a defect in T-cell maturation but also aberration in myeloid differentiation and an accumulation of myelomonocytic cells. ENU was administered i.p. once a week for three weeks with a total dose of 300mg/kg to wild type (wt) and Gfi1 null mice. Wild type mice (12/12) predominantly developed T-cell tumors and rarely acute myeloid leukemia, as expected. However, only 2/8 Gfi1 −/− mice succumbed to lymphoid neoplasia; they rather showed a severe dysplasia of the bone marrow that was more pronounced than in wt controls. These changes in Gfi1 null mice were accompanied by a dramatic decrease of the LSK (Lin-, Sca1- and c-Kit+) bone marrow fraction that contains hematopoietic stem cells and by a higher percentage (18%) of bone marrow cells, not expressing any lineage markers (CD4, CD 8, Ter 119, Mac1, Gr1, B220, CD3). In particular, we found that the LSK subpopulation of Gfi1 deficient mice showed a noticeable increase in cells undergoing apoptosis suggesting a role of Gfi1 in hematopoietic stem cell survival. In addition, Gfi1−/− bone marrow cells and thymic T-cells were more sensitive to DNA damage such as radiation and exposure to ENU than their wt counterparts pointing to a role of Gfi1 in DNA damage response. Our results indicate that Gfi1 is required for development of T-cell tumors and that a loss of Gfi1 may sensitize hematopoietic cells and possibly hematopoietic stem cells for programmed cell death. Further studies have to show whether interfering with Gfi1 expression or function might represent a tool in the therapy of leukemia.


Blood ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 99 (8) ◽  
pp. 2929-2939 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carole L. Berger ◽  
Douglas Hanlon ◽  
Daniel Kanada ◽  
Madhav Dhodapkar ◽  
Vivian Lombillo ◽  
...  

Abstract In the initial stage of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL), proliferating CTCL cells are concentrated in the epidermis in close association with an immature dendritic cell (DC), the Langerhans cell. Because long-term in vitro culture of CTCL cells has proven difficult, the in vivo association with the major antigen-presenting cell (APC) of the epidermis has been postulated to play a role in directly stimulating the clonal T-cell proliferation. We report that CTCL cells can be reproducibly grown in culture for 3 months when cocultured with immature DCs. CTCL cells retain the phenotype and genotype of the initial malignant clone, whereas the APCs are a mixture of immature and mature DCs. CTCL cell and DC survival was dependent on direct membrane contact. Growth was inhibited by antibodies that bound to the T-cell receptor (TCR) or interfered with the interaction of CD40 with its ligand on the CTCL cell. Addition of antibody to CD3 or the clonotypic TCR caused rapid CTCL cell apoptosis followed by engulfment by avidly phagocytic immature DCs and subsequent DC maturation. The opportunity to study CTCL cells and immature DCs for prolonged periods will facilitate studies of tumor cell biology and will allow investigation of the intriguing hypothesis that CTCL cell growth is driven through TCR recognition of class II–presented self-peptides. In addition, the culture of CTCL cells will permit evaluation of therapies in vitro before clinical intervention, thereby improving safety and efficacy.


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