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Blood, Vol. 91 No. 11 (June 1), 1998:
pp. 4331-4341
Isolation of Tumor-Specific Cytotoxic CD4+ and
CD4+CD8dim+ T-Cell Clones Infiltrating a
Cutaneous T-Cell Lymphoma
By
Martine Bagot,
Hamid Echchakir,
Fathia Mami-Chouaib,
Marie-Hélène Delfau-Larue,
Dominique Charue,
Alain Bernheim,
Salem Chouaib,
Laurence Boumsell, and
Armand Bensussan
From INSERM U448, Paris XII University, Paris; the Department of
Dermatology, Hôpital Henri Mondor, Créteil; INSERM U487 and
CNRS-URA 1967, Institut Gustave Roussy, Villejuif,
France.
 |
ABSTRACT |
We have isolated several T-cell clones from lymphocytes infiltrating
a human major histocompatibility class (MHC) II negative cutaneous
T-cell lymphoma (CTCL). We describe here two of these clones, TC5 and
TC7, with, respectively, a CD4+CD8dim+ and
CD4+CD8 phenotype. Both clones mediated a
specific MHC class I-restricted cytotoxic activity toward the fresh
autologous tumor cells, and autologous tumor cell lines previously
established with interleukin-2 (IL-2) and IL-7 from the skin and from
the blood. Analysis of the T-cell receptor (TCR) V gene expression
showed that the tumor cells, which were shown to have a trisomy 7 by
fluorescent in situ hybridization, expressed V 7/J 2.3,
V 13/J 2.5, and V 22/J 2.5 rearrangements. Phenotypic analysis
using specific anti-V monoclonal antibodies indicated that only
V 13 could be detected on the cell membrane of the tumor cells.
Analysis of the TCR V gene expression of the clones showed that TC5
and TC7 expressed a unique TCR-V transcript, corresponding,
respectively, to V 5/J 2.3 and V 17/J 2.7 gene segments. To
determine whether these reactive T lymphocytes were present in vivo, we
used specific primers corresponding to TC5- and TC7-V TCR
transcripts. The results showed that both cytotoxic T-cell clones were
present at the lesional skin site and amplified in vitro. TC7 was found
in the patient peripheral blood invaded by tumoral cells, whereas TC5
was not, indicating that the repertoire of the reactional lymphocytes
differs in the blood and at the tumor site. These results show for the
first time the presence of reactive T lymphocytes with CD4 or
double-positive phenotype infiltrating a CTCL. These findings raise the
question of the role of these antitumoral effector T cells in the tumor growth.
 |
INTRODUCTION |
THE CONTRIBUTION of the immune system to
host defense against solid tumors has been extensively investigated
during the last few years.1,2 In humans, the most widely
studied model to support the concept of antitumor immunity is malignant
melanoma.3-10 Several studies have described T-cell clones
or T-cell lines developed either from tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes or
from peripheral blood (PB) exhibiting major histocompatibility complex
(MHC)-restricted cytotoxic activity against autologous tumor cells.
Subsequently, these highly specific, mainly CD8+ T-cell
clones were used as tools to identify the recognized tumor antigens
encoded by three families of genes, namely, MAGE, BAGE and GAGE.11-13 These genes are frequently expressed
in a wide range of tumor types, including lung carcinoma and breast
tumors.14,15 In normal tissue these gene products have only
been observed in testis and placenta and appear to represent
tissue-specific antigens.16 More recently,
melanoma-reactive T-lymphocytes recognizing the products of mutated
genes were isolated. This finding suggests that certain proteins
contain common mutations that give rise to nonself T-cell epitopes
which could be really tumor-specific.17
In the present report we studied the immune response against cutaneous
T-cell lymphomas (CTCL). CTCLs are a heterogeneous group of
lymphoproliferative disorders.18,19 Mycosis fungoides is
clinically characterized by slowly progressing erythematous patches and
plaques, and histologically by infiltration of the epidermis and dermis
by clonally derived malignant lymphocytes with a mature
CD3+CD4+ phenotype.19-22 A more
aggressive form of CTCL occurs when the malignant cells become
nonepidermotropic and is associated with extra-cutaneous involvement.
Sézary syndrome is an erythrodermic form of CTCL with blood
involvement. Pleomorphic small and medium CTCL is a rare form of CTCL
characterized clinically by the occurrence of cutaneous nodules and
tumors, and histologically by a nonepidermotropic lymphoid
infiltrate.23 It has been reported that lesional
tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) in CTCL contain a mixture of
various nonneoplastic lymphoid cells, including CD4+ and
CD8+ lymphocytes.24 The role of these TIL in
CTCL remains to be fully elucidated.24,25 Two-color
immunohistologic analysis has shown that the majority of infiltrating
CD8+ cells express MHC class II antigens, and may be
functional cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL), as they express TIA-1, an
RNA-binding protein that can induce nuclear fragmentation and may be
the cytolytic granule factor responsible for causing apoptosis in the
target cells.26 Phenotypic studies are not able to address
the antigen specificity of these CD8+ cells, and it is
possible that they are bystander cells, nonspecifically recruited into
CTCL lesions, which do not exhibit any cytotoxic activity against the
autologous tumor cells. Therefore, the main objective of the present
report was to isolate and study TIL in CTCL to determine whether these
lymphocytes are reactive against tumor cells, and whether they can also
be detected in the blood invaded by tumor cells. For this purpose, we
developed T-cell clones from lymphocytes infiltrating a T-cell receptor
(TCR) V 13+ CD4+ MHC class
II CTCL. We successfully isolated
autologous tumor-specific cytotoxic CD4+CD8dim+
and CD4+ T-cell clones. We show that these T-cell clones
exhibit MHC class I-restricted cytotoxicity. Comparison of the TCR
transcripts expressed by these T-cell clones showed the presence of
these reactive T lymphocytes at the tumor site, their expansion during
the in vitro coculture in the presence of cytokines, and the presence
of one only of these clones in the patient PB invaded by the same
tumoral cells. Our findings show for the first time that an MHC class I-restricted tumor-specific reactive CD4+ T-cell clone,
which could be isolated from CTCL-infiltrating reactive TIL, was also
present in the blood, whereas a CD4+CD8dim+
tumor-specific T-cell clone was only present in the tumoral site of an
MHC class II-negative CTCL.
 |
MATERIALS AND METHODS |
Patients.
Patient Cou was an 81-year-old man with a mycosis fungoides initially
presenting as disseminated infiltrated patches and plaques and no
extra-cutaneous involvement. After a 5-year follow-up, this mycosis
fungoides evolved into a pleomorphic large T-cell lymphoma presenting
as disseminated cutaneous tumors and 30% atypical lymphocytes in the
peripheral blood. Patient Zia was a 45-year-old man with a pleomorphic
small and medium T-cell lymphoma presenting as disseminated cutaneous
tumors and no extra-cutaneous or blood involvement. Patient Lak was a
50-year-old woman with a Sezary syndrome defined by the presence of
erythroderma, disseminated lymphadenopathy, and 40% atypical
lymphocytes in the PB. Patients were not previously treated with
chemotherapy. Skin and blood samples were taken after informed consent.
Ethical committee approval for the study was obtained.
TIL cultures and clones.
TIL from patients Cou and Zia were obtained from tumor fragments
mechanically dispersed into single-cell suspensions and cultured in
12-well plates (Becton Dickinson, Lincoln Park, NJ) in culture medium
consisting of RPMI 1640 (GIBCO, Paisley, UK), 2 mmol/L L-glutamine,
penicillin (100 U/mL), streptomycin (100 µg/mL), 10%
heat-inactivated human serum, 25 U/mL recombinant interleukin-2 (rIL-2;
kindly provided by EuroCetus, Amsterdam, The Netherlands), and rIL-7
(10 ng/mL) (kindly provided by Sanofi Recherche, Labège, France).
For patient Lak, the cocultures of nonmalignant lymphocytes and tumor
lymphocytes were done with mononuclear cells isolated by the technique
of Ficoll-Isopaque (Pharmacia Fine Chemicals, Piscataway, NJ) density
gradient centrifugation. The various cocultures were
tested at day 10 for their ability to exhibit specific cytotoxic activity against the cells from the tumor specimen previously frozen.
At day 10 of the cocultures, the lymphocytes from patient Cou were
further cloned by a limiting dilution method in which the cells were
plated at a concentration of 0.3 cells per well into round-bottomed
96-well plates (Greiner, Nürtingen, Germany). Plates were
previously fed with irradiated allogeneic PB lymphocytes (PBL) from two
healthy donors (5 × 104 cells per well) in complete
medium containing 25 U/mL of rIL-2 and 1 mg/mL phytohemagglutinin (PHA;
Wellcome, Beckenham, UK). Cultures were fed every 3 days with
rIL-2-containing medium and the growing cloned cells were expanded as
previously described.27
Tumor cell lines.
Fresh CTCL tumor cells were obtained from mechanically dispersed tumor
fragments (at the same time as isolation of TIL). One portion of the
tumor specimen was rapidly frozen in liquid nitrogen awaiting RNA and
DNA extraction. Another portion was frozen in human serum plus 10%
dimethyl sulfoxide for later use in cell mediated cytotoxicity assays.
To develop the tumoral line Cou-LS, the remaining cells were cultured
in 24-well tissue-culture plates (Becton Dickinson) at a concentration
of 105 cells/mL of RPMI medium containing 10%
heat-inactivated human serum, 25 U/mL of rIL-2, and 10 ng/mL of rIL-7.
The cultures were fed two to three times per week with fresh medium and
split at a 1:2 ratio when necessary. After 2 months of culture most
cells were tumoral cells and were maintained in culture for more than 2 years. The line Cou-LB was developed from Cou PBL and cultured as the
line Cou-LS. The fresh and cultured CTCL from patient Cou were
HLA-A1,A2 and HLA-B5(51),B35. The clonal origin of the growing cell
lines was systematically tested by analyzing their clonal reactivity
with an anti-TCR V 13 monoclonal antibody (MoAb) and by TCR V
trancripts analysis.
MoAbs and phenotypic analysis.
MoAbs such as anti-CD3, anti-CD4, anti-CD8, anti-HLA class II, anti-HLA
class I, and TCR  were produced locally. Other MoAbs were
obtained through the exchanges of the Vth international workshop on the
differentiation antigens.28 Most anti-TCR V MoAbs were purchased from Immunotech-Coulter (Marseille, France), whereas only the
anti-TCR V 13 MoAb was from BIOadvance (Emerainville, France). The
MoAb B1.23.2, which reacts with monomorphic determinants shared by
HLA-B, HLA-C and only a few HLA-A alleles, and the MoAb L243, reactive
with monomorphic determinants shared by HLA-DR, HLA-DP, and HLA-DQ,
were kindly provided by Dr P. Le Bouteiller (INSERM, Toulouse, France).
These MoAbs were used as ascites fluid and, when needed, coupled to
fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) or biotin. Phenotypic analysis was
performed using a single argon flow cytometer analyzer (Epics XL;
Coulter, Miami, FL). Indirect immunofluorescence assays were performed
using an FITC-conjugated goat anti-mouse Ig from Caltag Laboratories
(San Francisco, CA) or a phycoerythrin (PE)-labeled goat anti-mouse Ig
from Immunotech (Marseille, France). For two-color immunofluorescence
experiments, cells were treated as already described.29
Proliferation assays.
The proliferative response of the tumor cell lines to various cytokines
was determined by measuring the [3H]-thymidine
incorporation (cpm) of 50 × 103 responder cells.
These tests were carried out in 96-well round-bottomed plates in 0.2 mL
of culture medium containing 10% inactivated human serum. The
cytokines used to test the proliferation of the T-cell lines, ie, IL-2
(25 U/mL), IL-4 (1,000 U/mL), and IL-7 (10 ng/mL), were kindly provided
by Sanofi Recherche (Labège, France). After 54 hours, the various
culture wells were individually pulsed with 1 mCi (=37 kBq) of
[3H]-thymidine and obtained 18 hours later.
[3H]-thymidine incorporation was measured in a microplate
scintillation counter (Topcount; Packard Instrument Co, Meriden, CT).
Cytotoxicity assays.
Cytotoxicity assays were performed according to a standard
51Cr-release method. Effector cells were TIL cultures and
TIL-derived T-cell clones. Cryopreserved, noncultured tumor cells, and
cultured tumor lines were used as target cells. Assays at various
effector to target cell (E:T) ratios with 5 × 103
51Cr-labeled target cells/well were performed in
triplicate, using 96-well V-bottomed microtiter plates. The final
culture volume was 200 µL per well. After 4 hours of culture, plates
were spun and 100 µL of supernatant was removed from each well and
counted in a gamma-counter for the determination of 51Cr
release. The percentage of lysis was determined as previously described.29 For blocking experiments, anti-CD4 MoAb was
added to effector cells for 30 minutes at room temperature and the
cells were washed before mixing them with 51Cr-labeled
target cells. In contrast, anti-HLA class I MoAbs W6/32 and B1.23.2
were added to the 51Cr-labeled target cells for 30 minutes
at 4°C and then the cells were washed before using them. When
anti-CD3 MoAb was used, 1 µg/mL of purified CD3X3 MoAb was added into
culture well with the effector and target cells during the whole assay.
Complementarity determining region 3 (CDR3) size analysis of
V transcripts using polymerase chain reaction (PCR).
To study the V transcripts expressed by T-cell clones and tumor cell
lines, a run-off methodology was used.30 The V and C -specific primers and the procedure used for CDR3 size analysis have been reported previously.31 Briefly, tumoral and
nontumoral tissue samples (0.2 to 0.5 g tissue or 5 × 106 cells) were resuspended in 6 mol/L guanidium
thiocyanate buffer. Total RNA was then purified by CsCl gradient
centrifugation. For PBL, total RNA was extracted using a modified
guanidium thiocyanate phenol/chloroform method (RNAzol B method). cDNA
was prepared by standard method using reverse transcriptase (RT) and an
oligo-dT primer. cDNA copies of 0.1 µg RNA were amplified in 40 cycles V /C PCR in 50 µL and aliquots (2 µL) were copied in 1- to 5-cycle runoff reactions primed with fluorescent (ABI
fluorophore Fam)-labeled oligonucleotides specific for C or J
fluorophores. Runoff products were then subjected to electrophoresis on
an ABI sequencer (Applied Biosystems, Foster City, CA) in the presence
of fluorescent size markers and analyzed with the 672 Genescan software
(Perkin Elmer SA, Courbevoie, France).
Semiquantitative PCR analysis.
TCR V gene segment usage was determined using a semiquantitative PCR
analysis as described previously.30 cDNA amplifications were performed over 30 cycles with the fluorescent C primer and the
same panel of V primers than for the CDR3 size analysis. The
intensities of the different peaks present in all V subfamilies were
added, and the percentages of each V subfamily were calculated and
represented as histograms.
Directed sequencing of PCR products.
PCR products were purified using Qiagen columns (Qiaquick PCR
purification kit; Qiagen, Hilden, Germany), and
resuspended in 20 µL of sterile water. The purified products were
directly sequenced in both directions with a PRISM ready reaction
DyeDeoxy Terminator cycle sequencing kit and a 373A DNA sequencer
(Applied Biosystems).
Genomic analysis.
High-molecular-weight DNA was extracted by a standard proteinase K
digestion and a phenol/chloroform extraction. Two microliters of the
DNA samples were subjected to PCR in a 50-µL reaction volume with a
V -specific primer and J primer. The PCR cycles were followed by a
final 10-minute elongation at 72°C. An aliquot of each
amplification reaction was visualized on ethidium bromide-stained 2%
agarose gel.
Fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH).
After adjunction of colcemid to exponentially growing cells, metaphase
spreads were prepared with standard procedures of hypotonic treatment,
methanol/acetic fixation, and dropped on chilled slides. Whole
chromosome probe specific for chromosome 7 was of commercial origin
(Oncor, Gaithersburg, MD) and was labeled with
digoxigenin. FISH was performed following the manufacturer's
instructions, and digoxigenin-labeled DNA was detected using
anti-digoxigenin-tetramethylrhodamine isothiocyanate (TRITC) antibodies
(Boehringer Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany). Chromosomes were
counterstained with DAPI (4,5-diamino-2-phenylindole). Fifty mitoses
were analyzed and showed in paradiploid cells a homogenous trisomy 7 with no translocation.
 |
RESULTS |
CTCL suspensions showed specific cytotoxic activities against
autologous tumor cells.
Single-cell suspensions obtained from skin tumor fragments of patients
Cou and Zia and PBL from patient Lak were cultured in vitro for 10 days
with culture medium containing 10% inactivated human serum
supplemented with rIL-2 and rIL-7. Approximately 90% of cells were
CD4+, and this percentage of CD4+ cells was not
modified after 10 days of culture with IL-2/IL-7. The cultured T
lymphocytes were then tested for their ability to mediate cytotoxic
activity against a suspension of non-cultured autologous tumor
CD4+ T lymphocytes. The results presented in
Fig 1 indicate that cocultures from each
patient exhibited cytotoxic activity against the previously frozen
autologous tumoral cells. The lytic activity of these effector cells
were reproducibly significant at the respective highest effector/target
ratio tested and decreased with lower effector/target ratios. No lytic
activity could be detected against allogeneic tumor cells. As can be
seen from the representative experiments shown in Fig 1, the cytotoxic
effector cells from Lak were unable to kill allogeneic tumor cells from
patient Cou and, conversely, the cytotoxic lymphocytes from Cou failed
to kill the allogeneic tumor cells of Lak.

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| Fig 1.
Cytotoxic activity of TIL from three patients with CTCL.
TIL were cultured with IL-2 and IL-7, and were tested at day 10 for their ability to exhibit specific cytotoxic activity against the cells
of the tumor specimen previously frozen. For the three patients, the
TIL cultures exhibited a specific cytotoxic activity against autologous
tumor T-cells ( ) whereas no cytotoxic activity was found on
allogeneic tumor T cells ( ). Results are expressed as the mean of
triplicates ± SD.
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Establishment of IL-7/IL-2-dependent lymphoma cell lines.
To maintain in long-term cultures the tumor cells, we subsequently
developed a T-cell line from the tumor fragment of patient Cou. This
CTCL line (Cou-LS) was generated by culturing the tumoral skin cells
with rIL-2 and rIL-7. The phenotype of the growing line was
TCR +CD4+CD8 MHC class
I+ and MHC class II , and was the same as
that of the fresh tumor cells directly isolated from the skin (see
below). The proliferative response to cytokines of the tumor cell line
Cou-LS is shown in Table 1. IL-7, IL-4, and
to a lesser extent IL-2 were growth factors for this tumor cell line.
In addition, a synergistic effect of IL-2 and IL-7 was observed for the
growth of this cell line, whereas no additive effect was observed with
IL-4 and IL-7. Similar proliferative results were obtained with a tumor
T-cell line developed from the blood, named Cou-LB (data not shown).
Characterization of the TCR transcripts in Cou-LS tumor cell line.
The TCR gene segment usage by Cou-LS tumor cell line was determined
using an RT-PCR approach and a panel of previously described V and
J primers. TCR chain structure determination of Cou-LS tumor
cell line showed three TCR transcripts corresponding to V 7/J 2.3, V 13/J 2.5, and V 22/J 2.5
(Fig 2). These results suggested a trisomy
of chromosome 7, which was further evidenced by FISH, showing that
Cou-LS is a diploid cell line with homogenous trisomy 7 and no
translocation (Fig 3). It must be noted
that this chromosomal abnormality was not secondary to the culture with
cytokines, as the three TCR transcripts were also found in the
tumor fragment and in the PBL of the patient. Direct sequencing of the
junctional region corresponding to each of these TCR transcripts
indicated that only the V 13/J 2.5 transcript was in frame. The
sequence of the CDR3 of the V 13/J 2.5 transcript was: (V 13.2)
TGT GCC AGC AG ... C CCC AGC GGG CGG AAA ... CAA GAG (J 2.5).

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| Fig 2.
Complementarity-determining region 3 (CDR3) size analysis
of TCR V 7, V 13, and V 22 transcripts in Cou-LS tumor
cell line analyzed with fluorescent C , J 2.3, and J 2.5. cDNA
made from total RNA extracted from Cou-LS were amplified in a PCR
reaction primed by V 7/V 13/V 22 and C -specific primers. The
unlabeled amplification products were elongated with nested fluorescent C , J 2.3, and J 2.5. Aliquots were subjected to electrophoresis and analysis on an automated sequencer. Cou-LS tumor cell line showed
three TCR transcripts corresponding to V 7/J 2.3,
V 13/J 2.5, and V 22/J 2.5.
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| Fig 3.
FISH performed on Cou-LS cells with whole chromosome
paint for chromosome 7. To the top a nucleus with three chromosomal
domains; to the bottom a mitosis with three labeled chromosomes 7.
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TCR gene rearrangement analysis in the skin tumor.
To discriminate the nonneoplastic cells from the tumor clone within the
initial skin tumor cells, PCR analysis was performed on genomic DNA
extracted from the fresh skin tumor. The results clearly show that the
three rearrangements V 7/J 2.3, V 13/J 2.5, and V 22/J 2.5
were amplified at the genomic level (Fig
4). It must be noted that the size corresponding to the V 22/J 2.5
rearrangement corresponded to a higher molecular weight, compared with
the expected size obtained from the corresponding cDNA (Fig 2). The two
other transcripts corresponded to the expected size. As control,
amplification of V 5 and V 8 primers with J 1.1, J 1.2,
J 2.1, and J 2.7 gave negative results. These primers were
retrospectively chosen according to the results obtained with PCR
analysis on cDNA, indicating a single peak.

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| Fig 4.
Analysis of the PCR products obtained from genomic DNA
in the skin tumor. Two microliters of the DNA sample were amplified with a 30-cycle PCR, using primers specific for V genes in
combination with J primers. The PCR products were analyzed by
electrophoresis through a 2% agarose gel. Lane E, size markers (100 bp); lane 1, V 7/J 2.3; lane 2, V 13/J 2.5; lane 3, V 22/J 2.5; lane 4, V 5/J 1.1; lane 5, V 5/J 1.2; lane 6, V 5/J 2.1; lane 7, V 5/J 2.7; lane 8, V 8/J 1.1; lane 9, V 8/J 1.2; lane 10, V 8/J 2.1; lane 11, V 8/J 2.7.
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V 13 is expressed on the membrane of fresh tumor cells
and of both T-cell lines.
To confirm that TCR V 13 was expressed by tumor cells, two-color
immunofluorescence analyses were performed on fresh skin tumor cells
and on both T-cell lines Cou-LS and Cou-LB
(Fig 5). The results show that within the
initial tumor, 80% of the CD4+ lymphocytes expressed
V 13. It must be noted that a minority of the V 13+
population was CD4 . In addition, the
V 13 reactive lymphocytes were composed mainly of
CD4+ lymphocytes. Both long-term T-cell lines derived
respectively from the skin and from the blood had a
CD4+V 13+ phenotype. The PBL from the patient
contained 30% of CD4+V 13+ tumoral cells
(data not shown).

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| Fig 5.
Expression of V 13 on fresh skin tumor cells
and on both cultured T-cell lines Cou-LS and Cou-LB. Double
immunostaining flow-cytometric analysis was performed, using a
PE-conjugated anti-CD4 MoAb, and an anti-V 13 MoAb plus an
FITC-conjugated goat anti-mouse Ig.
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Isolation of CD4+ and
CD4+CD8dim+ cytotoxic
T-lymphocyte clones from Cou TIL-cultures.
To further study the specificity of the cultured tumor-infiltrating
lymphocytes, we developed cloned T-lymphocyte populations from tumor
fragment cocultures obtained from patient Cou. The T-lymphocyte clones
were obtained by limiting dilution, using as feeder cells irradiated
allogeneic PBL stimulated with PHA. Ten CD3+ TCR
/ + MHC class I+ and MHC class
II+ long-term growing T-cell clones were studied for their
phenotype and cytotoxic activity (data not shown). Two of them were
selected for their ability to kill autologous fresh tumor cells
isolated from the skin tumor (Table 2). The
phenotypic analysis of these two autologous tumor-specific T-cell
clones, named TC5 and TC7, showed that TC5 was double-positive
CD4+CD8dim+, and TC7 single-positive
CD4+CD8 (Fig
6). These two clones have maintained stable reactivity and phenotype in
culture for more than 1 year. We next showed that TC5 and TC7 T-cell
clones could also have a similar lytic activity against the two
cultured V 13+ tumor cell lines Cou-LS and Cou-LB
established, respectively, from the skin and from the blood, previously
mentioned. Both tumor cell lines were lysed at levels ranging from 15%
to 35%, and the cytotoxicity levels were increased for higher
effector-to-target ratios (Table 2). It is interesting to postulate
that enhancement of the killing observed in the presence of an anti-CD3
MoAb could be caused by the fact that both the effector cells and the
target tumor cells were T lymphocytes. The cytotoxic activity of these two T-cell clones was highly specific, as they were able to lyse neither allogeneic tumor T cells nor the natural killer-sensitive target cells K562 (Table 2).
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Table 2.
Cytotoxic Activity of TC5 and TC7 Clones Against
Autologous Tumor Cells and the Tumor Cell Lines Cou LS and Cou LB
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| Fig 6.
TC5 and TC7 have a
CD4+CD8dim+ and
CD4+CD8 phenotype. Double immunostaining
flow-cytometric analysis was performed, using an FITC-conjugated
anti-CD4 MoAb, and a PE-conjugated anti-CD8 MoAb.
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The cytotoxic activity of TC5 and TC7 T cell clones was restricted by
MHC class I molecules.
To further define the restriction element of the cytotoxic activity of
TC5 and TC7, we performed blocking experiments, using a panel of MoAbs.
Results from a representative experiment are shown in
Fig 7. The monomorphic anti-class I MoAb
W6/32 induced a significant inhibition of the specific antitumoral
cytotoxic activity of TC5 and TC7, whereas, as expected from previous
phenotypic analyses indicating that the tumor cell lines were MHC class
II-negative, the anti-MHC class II MoAb L243 had no effect. At the
effector cell level, neither CD4 nor CD8 molecules were involved in the effector cell cytotoxic activity of both T-cell clones. Further, blocking experiments performed with the B1.23.2 MoAb, which reacts preferentially with HLA-B and HLA-C molecules, indicated that only TC5
T-cell clone cytotoxic activity was strongly inhibited by this MoAb,
whereas TC7 was not blocked. These results suggest that TC5 reacts with
a peptide presented by HLA-B or HLA-C molecules, whereas TC7 recognizes
a peptide presented by HLA-A molecules.

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| Fig 7.
The cytotoxic activity of the clones TC5 (Fig 4A and C)
and TC7 (Fig 4B and D) on the autologous tumor cell line Cou-LS is blocked by anti-MHC class I MoAbs. Anti-CD4 and anti-CD8 MoAbs were
added to effector cells for 30 minutes, and cells were washed before
use. W6/32, B1.23.2, and L243 were added to the
51Cr-labeled target cells for 30 minutes and cells were
washed before use.
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CDR3 size analysis of V /C PCR
products in skin tumor and PBL.
We next examined CDR3 size V distribution in the skin tumor and in
PBL by runoff analysis as described previously.30 The RNA
was reverse transcribed and amplified by PCR with the use of 24 V
subfamily primers and 1 fluorescent C -specific primer. The labeled
PCR products were analyzed on an automated DNA sequencer to determine
the VDJ (CDR3) size distribution and the intensity of the signals. The
results from tumor sample and PBL of patient Cou are shown in
Fig 8. The profiles, which reflected the
CDR3 size diversity in a given V subfamily, could be divided into two categories: some displayed five to eight peaks spaced by three nucleotides each in a nearly Gaussian distribution (such as V 1 or
V 6 in tumor, or V 3 in PBL). Others contained one or several dominant peaks highly suggestive of clonal expansions (such as V 7,
V 8, V 13, V 15, V 22, and V 23). It must be noted that these dominant peaks were detected both in the tumor and in PBL, which is
consistent with the fact that PBL harbored 30% of circulating tumor
cells, which express V 7/J 2.3, V 13/J 2.5, and V 22/J 2.5.

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| Fig 8.
V -C VDJ junction CDR3-size distribution profiles in
skin tumor (A) and PBL (B) from patient Cou. cDNA made from total RNA extracted from the tumor biopsy sample or the PBL was subjected to PCR
amplification with V -specific primers and a fluorescent C primer.
The labeled PCR products were subjected to electrophoresis and analysis
on an automated DNA sequencer. The fluorescence profiles (x-axis,
V -C size in nucleotides; y-axis, fluorescence intensity) of the
24 V subfamilies are shown.
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Comparative analysis of TCR V gene segment
expression.
To evaluate V gene segment expression in tumor and PBL of patient
Cou, V -C PCR amplification (30 cycles) was performed, using a
fluorescent C primer as described previously.30 Labeled PCR products were directly analyzed on the automated sequencer and the
intensities of the peaks were obtained at the end of the electrophoresis run. The intensities of the different peaks present in
all V subfamilies were calculated and represented as histograms. Figure 9 summarizes the results of TCR V
gene segment usage in the tumor and PBL of patient Cou. As shown in Fig
9, the TCR repertoire is diverse with the presence of most V genes.
Comparisons between tumor and PBL repertoires show some differences,
namely that V 6 gene segment was overexpressed in the tumor (five
times more expressed in the tumor than in PBL). V 15 and V 14 genes
were, respectively, 2.7 and 1.7 times more expressed in the tumor than
in PBL.

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| Fig 9.
V gene segment usage in skin tumor ( ) and PBL ( )
of patient Cou. The V subfamily gene usage was determined by
quantitative PCR, and expressed as percentage (histogram bars) of the
sum of the fluorescence intensities present in all detected peaks
obtained after PCR amplification with a fluorescent C primer.
|
|
Characterization and in situ detection of the TCR transcripts in TC5
and TC7 CTL clones.
The TCR gene segment usage by TC5 and TC7 CTL clones was determined
using an RT-PCR approach and a panel of V and J primers as
previously described for the tumor cell line. TC5 expressed a
V 5/J 2.3 rearrangement, and TC7 a V 17/J 2.7 rearrangement (Fig 10). The junctional region of TC5
and TC7 TCR chain was then analyzed by cloning and sequencing
amplified V 5/J 2.3 and V 17/J 2.7 transcripts, respectively.
Table 3 shows the nucleic acid sequences of
both TC5 and TC7 junctional regions. Amplified V 5/C and
V 17/C PCR products from PBL, tumor, and TIL-culture RNA samples
were successively copied with C and J primers. TC5 clone gave a
monoclonal peak of 113 nucleotides when copied with J 2.3 primer,
which was also detected in the initial tumor, and in the TIL-culture,
but not detected in PBL (Fig 10). TC7 clone gave a monoclonal peak of
142 nucleotides when copied with J 2.7 primer, which was detected in
uncultured tumor, and was dominant in PBL. It is noteworthy that it was
less expanded in the TIL-culture.

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| Fig 10.
CDR3 size profiles of TCR V 5 and TCR V 17 transcripts in samples from patient Cou analyzed with fluorescent C ,
J 2.3, and J 2.7. cDNA made from total RNA extracted from TC5
(V 5) and TC7 (V 17) CTL clones, TIL-culture, tumor suspensions,
and PBL from the patient were amplified in a PCR reaction primed by
V 5/V 17- and C -specific primers. The unlabeled amplification
products were elongated with nested fluorescent C , J 2.3, and
J 2.7. Aliquots were subjected to electrophoresis and analysis on an
automated sequencer. Arrows indicate the signal corresponding to the
two CTL clones TCR transcripts.
|
|
 |
DISCUSSION |
The skin lesions in CTCL contain an heterogeneous cell infiltrate
including malignant cells which are usually
CD3+CD4+ lymphocytes that phenotypically
resemble mature T-helper cells. Although these tumor cells comprise the
majority of cell population, there is usually an admixture of
nonneoplastic tumor-infiltrating T lymphocytes, macrophages, and other
inflammatory cells. Staining of the clonal population with anti-V
MoAbs has shown that in early mycosis fungoides the clonal
proliferation can be restricted to the epidermal part of the
infiltrate, suggesting that the dermal part of the infiltrate is mainly
composed of reactive lymphocytes.20 Other studies have
shown that CTCL skin lesions contain TIL expressing an activated
cytotoxic phenotype,24 and that these TIL could influence
the long-term survival of patients with CTCL.32 Thus, CTCL
represents a unique tumor model where both the tumoral and the
nonmalignant infiltrating lymphocytes are T lymphocytes. In the present
study, we examined whether CTCL TIL exhibit reactivity against the
autologous tumor. We show that T lymphocytes obtained from CTCL skin
fragments mechanically dispersed into single cell suspension or from
Sézary syndrome PBL displayed cytotoxicity against autologous
tumor cells after several days in culture with rIL-2 and rIL-7. This
observation is in agreement with results of previous studies, which
have shown that IL-7 can increase the generation and propagate the
long-term growth of anti-tumor CTL.33
IL-7 has also been shown to be a potent growth factor for CTCL tumor
cells.34 Exposure of Sézary cells to IL-7 increases IL-2 receptor and IL-7 receptor expression, and IL-7 and IL-2 have
synergistic effects on the growth of CTCL tumor cells.34,35 IL-7 is produced by keratinocytes,36 and
keratinocyte-derived IL-7 is a growth factor for CTCL-derived cell
lines.34 IL-7 transgenic mice develop a progressive
cutaneous disorder with a cutaneous lymphoid infiltrate.37
IL-7 mRNA is found in disease-involved skin and blood CTCL
cells,35 and most CTCL express IL-7 receptor.38 These findings suggest that IL-7 may represent an important cytokine for the pathophysiology of CTCL, with possible autocrine or paracrine growth-stimulating properties. In addition, the use of IL-7 may contribute to maintain in vitro the immunogenicity of CTCL tumor cells.
We established long-term tumor T-cell lines from the skin and from the
blood of patient Cou by culturing them with IL-7 and IL-2. The same
V transcripts were found to be expressed by the two long-term T-cell
lines and by fresh tumor cells, showing that both T-cell lines were
derived from the same clone of tumor cells.
To further study the phenotype and the function of tumor-infiltrating
lymphocytes, T-cell clones were isolated from CTCL skin fragments of
patient Cou. Two cytotoxic T-cell clones were selected initially for
their ability to kill the tumor cells obtained from the previously
frozen tumor fragment. These two T-cell clones, namely TC5 and TC7,
had, respectively, a
CD3+ / +CD4+CD8dim+
and
CD3+ / +CD4+CD8
phenotype. TC5 and TC7 also had a specific cytotoxic activity directed
against the skin- and the blood-derived tumor cell lines Cou-LS and
Cou-LB. These results suggest that, in contrast to recent results
presented with melanoma-specific CTL clones,39 fresh tumor
cells and cultured tumor cell lines express the same tumor antigens. In
addition, these results show that identical tumor peptides are
presented by the tumor cells both in the skin and in the blood. We
performed blocking experiments to define the restriction element of
these two T-cell clones. We found that the cytotoxic activities of TC5
and TC7 were inhibited by the monomorphic anti-MHC class I MoAb W6/32.
In contrast, TC5 and TC7 were differentially affected in their
cytotoxic activity by the MoAb B1.23.2, which reacts with HLA-B and
HLA-C molecules. These results suggest that the TC5 T-cell clone
detects a peptide presented by HLA-B or -C molecules, whereas TC7
recognizes a distinct peptide presented by HLA-A. The majority of
CD4+ clones are MHC class II-restricted, whereas
CD8+ clones are mainly MHC class I-restricted. However,
CD4+ MHC class I-restricted mature T-cell clones have
already been reported, indicating that the generally accepted model for
thymic selection may not be absolute.40-42 In addition, the
lysis of tumor cells expressing class I but not class II molecules by
cytotoxic CD4+43,44 and CD4+CD8+45
T-cell clones has already been reported. In these models, the cytotoxic
activity was restricted by the class I antigens, and CD4 and class II
interactions were not essential for the lytic interactions.44,45
There is only one report on CD8+ class I-restricted
tumor-specific cytotoxic T-cell clones in CTCL,25 showing
several major differences with our study: (1) the cytotoxic T cells
were isolated from the blood of patients with Sézary syndrome;
(2) they were isolated from the CD8-enriched fraction of PBL; (3)
cloned CD8 cells did not lyse unmodified autologous tumor targets, and
the cytotoxic activity of these clones required the preculture of the
tumor targets with autologous gamma-irradiated tumor cultured in medium
containing 15% fetal bovine serum; (4) cultured tumor cells expressed
variable amounts of MHC class I molecules. In our study, the tumor cell
lines expressed constant amounts of MHC class I histocompatibility
molecules and were MHC class II . It must be noted
that in contrast to cutaneous lymphomas of B-cell origin which are
usually MHC class II+, CTCL do not always express MHC class
II gene products. Thus, the present study is the first demonstration of
the presence inside the cutaneous infiltrate of CD4+ and
CD4+CD8dim+ cytotoxic tumor-specific T-cell
clones.
Finally, it was important to assess whether the tumor-specific T-cell
clones were preferentially expanded in vivo. The TCR V gene segment
usage of the tumor cell lines and the cytotoxic T-cell clones was
determined, using RT-PCR and a panel of V and J primers. TC5 and
TC7 were, respectively, found to express V 5/J 2.3 and
V 17/J 2.7 rearrangements. Three TCR rearrangements
corresponding to V 7/J 2.3, V 13/J 2.5, V 22/J 2.5 were
found to be expressed by the skin- and the blood-derived tumor cell
lines. These three rearranged gene segments were related
to a trisomy in the tumor cells. Various chromosomal abnormalities,
including chromosome 7, have been reported in CTCL.46
However, this is the first report of three TCR V transcripts
associated to a trisomy 7 in CTCL tumor cells. Using anti-TCR V
MoAbs, only V 13 was clonally detected on the cell membrane. As
expected from CDR3-sequencing, V 22 and V 7 were not detected by
the specific MoAbs on tumor cell surface. This result excluded the
possibility that another TCR V could be present on tumor cell
membrane, since the expression of two TCR transcripts has already been
reported.47 CDR3 analysis of V -C PCR products showed
several dominant peaks, both in tumor and PBL. V -specific
amplification revealed comparable representations of the V 7, V 13,
and V 22 segments, corresponding to the tumor cells that were present
both in the skin tumor and in the blood, indicating that the trisomy 7 was already present in the tumor cells and was not a consequence of the
in vitro culture. Furthermore, PCR analysis on genomic DNA of the tumor
indicated the presence of the three rearrangements detected at the cDNA
level. Comparison of the CDR3-size distribution of TCR-V transcripts
of both T-cell clones showed that TC5 and TC7 were present in the
lesional tumor site and expanded at a various extent in TIL-culture. In
addition, TC7 was also found in PBL, whereas TC5 was totally absent
from patient PBL. These results show the presence within the tumor infiltrate of CTCL of tumor-specific, class I-restricted cytotoxic T
lymphocytes, some of which can be present in the blood. These findings
suggest that these antitumoral effector T cells participate to the
antitumor reactivity of the host immune system. However, the CTCL tumor
cells could be able to avoid immune destruction by several mechanisms,
such as abnormal T-lymphocyte signal transduction48 or the
secretion of soluble inhibitory factors, such as transforming growth
factor- or IL-10. Indeed, overexpression of IL-10 has recently been
shown in advanced CTCL that could contribute to the downregulation of
this specific antitumor reactivity.49 Fas-L expression
could be another strategy used by tumor cells to escape immune
rejection.50
In conclusion, these results constitute a unique model for the study of
human T-T lymphocyte interactions. In addition, they represent a fundamental step for further isolation and characterization of the class I peptides that are important for the priming of antitumor
responses in CTCL, including the TCR idiotype expressed by the
tumor.51 Identification of peptide antigens will enable the
development of peptide vaccine therapies in CTCL.
 |
FOOTNOTES |
Submitted October 3, 1997;
accepted January 24, 1998.
M.B. and H.E. contributed equally to this work.
Supported by grants from INSERM, Paris XII University, and Association
pour la Recherche sur le Cancer.
Address reprint requests to Martine Bagot, MD, PhD, INSERM U448,
Faculté de Médecine, 8 Avenue du Général
Sarrail, 94010, Créteil, France.
The publication costs of this article were defrayed in part by page charge payment. This article must therefore be hereby marked "advertisement" is accordance with 18 U.S.C. section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.
 |
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R. Dummer, J. C. Hassel, F. Fellenberg, S. Eichmuller, T. Maier, P. Slos, B. Acres, P. Bleuzen, V. Bataille, P. Squiban, et al.
Adenovirus-mediated intralesional interferon-{gamma} gene transfer induces tumor regressions in cutaneous lymphomas
Blood,
September 15, 2004;
104(6):
1631 - 1638.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
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H. L. Hanson, S. S. Kang, L. A. Norian, K. Matsui, L. A. O'Mara, and P. M. Allen
CD4-Directed Peptide Vaccination Augments an Antitumor Response, but Efficacy Is Limited by the Number of CD8+ T Cell Precursors
J. Immunol.,
April 1, 2004;
172(7):
4215 - 4224.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
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M. Roddis, R. W. Carter, M.-Y. Sun, T. Weissensteiner, A. J. McMichael, P. Bowness, and H. C. Bodmer
Fully Functional HLA B27-Restricted CD4+ as well as CD8+ T Cell Responses in TCR Transgenic Mice
J. Immunol.,
January 1, 2004;
172(1):
155 - 161.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
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T. Maier, A. Tun-Kyi, A. Tassis, K.-P. Jungius, G. Burg, R. Dummer, and F. O. Nestle
Vaccination of patients with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma using intranodal injection of autologous tumor-lysate-pulsed dendritic cells
Blood,
October 1, 2003;
102(7):
2338 - 2344.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
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D. Winter, E. Fiebiger, P. Meraner, H. Auer, C. Brna, R. Strohal, F. Trautinger, R. Knobler, G. F. Fischer, G. Stingl, et al.
Definition of TCR Epitopes for CTL-Mediated Attack of Cutaneous T Cell Lymphoma
J. Immunol.,
September 1, 2003;
171(5):
2714 - 2724.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
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M. Lima, J. Almeida, M. dos Anjos Teixeira, M. d. C. Alguero, A. H. Santos, A. Balanzategui, M. L. Queiros, P. Barcena, A. Izarra, S. Fonseca, et al.
TCR{alpha}{beta}+/CD4+ Large Granular Lymphocytosis: A New Clonal T-Cell Lymphoproliferative Disorder
Am. J. Pathol.,
August 1, 2003;
163(2):
763 - 771.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
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M. Nikolova, P. Musette, M. Bagot, L. Boumsell, and A. Bensussan
Engagement of ILT2/CD85j in Sezary syndrome cells inhibits their CD3/TCR signaling
Blood,
July 18, 2002;
100(3):
1019 - 1025.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
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E. Jimenez, R. Sacedon, A. Vicente, C. Hernandez-Lopez, A. G. Zapata, and A. Varas
Rat Peripheral CD4+CD8+ T Lymphocytes Are Partially Immunocompetent Thymus-Derived Cells That Undergo Post-Thymic Maturation to Become Functionally Mature CD4+ T Lymphocytes
J. Immunol.,
May 15, 2002;
168(10):
5005 - 5013.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
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M. Bagot, A. Moretta, S. Sivori, R. Biassoni, C. Cantoni, C. Bottino, L. Boumsell, and A. Bensussan
CD4+ cutaneous T-cell lymphoma cells express the p140-killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptor
Blood,
March 1, 2001;
97(5):
1388 - 1391.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
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S. Eichmüller, D. Usener, R. Dummer, A. Stein, D. Thiel, and D. Schadendorf
Serological detection of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma-associated antigens
PNAS,
January 5, 2001;
(2001)
21386498.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
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E. Poszepczynska, M. Bagot, H. Echchakir, D. Martinvalet, M. Ramez, D. Charue, L. Boumsell, and A. Bensussan
Functional characterization of an IL-7-dependent CD4+CD8alpha alpha + Th3-type malignant cell line derived from a patient with a cutaneous T-cell lymphoma
Blood,
August 1, 2000;
96(3):
1056 - 1063.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
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H. Echchakir, I. Vergnon, G. Dorothee, D. Grunenwald, S. Chouaib, and F. Mami-Chouaib
Evidence for in situ expansion of diverse antitumor-specific cytotoxic T lymphocyte clones in a human large cell carcinoma of the lung
Int. Immunol.,
April 1, 2000;
12(4):
537 - 546.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
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G. J.A. ten Bosch, J. H. Kessler, A. M. Joosten, A. A. Bres-Vloemans, A. Geluk, B. C. Godthelp, J. van Bergen, C. J.M. Melief, and O. C. Leeksma
A BCR-ABL Oncoprotein p210b2a2 Fusion Region Sequence Is Recognized by HLA-DR2a Restricted Cytotoxic T Lymphocytes and Presented by HLA-DR Matched Cells Transfected With an Iib2a2 Construct
Blood,
August 1, 1999;
94(3):
1038 - 1045.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
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S. Agrawal, J. Marquet, G. J. Freeman, A. Tawab, P. L. Bouteiller, P. Roth, W. Bolton, G. Ogg, L. Boumsell, and A. Bensussan
Cutting Edge: MHC Class I Triggering by a Novel Cell Surface Ligand Costimulates Proliferation of Activated Human T Cells
J. Immunol.,
February 1, 1999;
162(3):
1223 - 1226.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
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E. Bruyns, A. Marie-Cardine, H. Kirchgessner, K. Sagolla, A. Shevchenko, M. Mann, F. Autschbach, A. Bensussan, S. Meuer, and B. Schraven
T Cell Receptor (TCR) Interacting Molecule (TRIM), A Novel Disulfide-linked Dimer Associated with the TCR-CD3-{zeta} Complex, Recruits Intracellular Signaling Proteins to the Plasma Membrane
J. Exp. Med.,
August 3, 1998;
188(3):
561 - 575.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
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S. Eichmuller, D. Usener, R. Dummer, A. Stein, D. Thiel, and D. Schadendorf
Serological detection of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma-associated antigens
PNAS,
January 16, 2001;
98(2):
629 - 634.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
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