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Characterization of T‐cell receptor β chain mRNA expression in IFN‐α‐responsive chronic myelogenous leukaemia patients
Author(s) -
Shimomura Taizo,
Fujii Shinichiro,
Ezaki Ichiko,
Osato Motomi,
Fujimoto Koji,
Takatsuki Kiyoshi,
Yamamoto Kazuhiko,
Kawakita Makoto
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
british journal of haematology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.907
H-Index - 186
eISSN - 1365-2141
pISSN - 0007-1048
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2141.1999.01283.x
Subject(s) - antigen , major histocompatibility complex , t cell receptor , immunology , interferon , biology , immune system , chronic myelogenous leukemia , microbiology and biotechnology , reverse transcriptase , t cell , polymerase chain reaction , leukemia , gene , genetics
Interferon‐α (IFN‐α) has shown promise in the treatment of chronic phase of chronic myelogenous leukaemia (CML). IFN‐α has also been found to indirectly up‐regulate the expression of major histocompatibility (MHC) antigens, and to directly increase the activity of lymphocytes against tumour cells. To elucidate whether IFN‐α induces anti‐leukaemic activity of the autologous T cells in CML patients, we analysed the accumulation of T‐cell receptor (TCR) in each Vβ family using the reverse transcriptase‐polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR) followed by single‐strand conformation (SSCP) analysis. We found the predominant expression of the Vβ 10, 12, and 14 families in the peripheral blood (PB) of CML patients, in contrast to healthy donors. Especially, in IFN‐α‐responsive patients, we observed an enhancement of the accumulation of the Vβ 9 and 20 families, suggesting that T cells enhanced by IFN‐α may react with a discrete set of antigens on the surface of malignant cells. These findings may demonstrate that CML cells possess the heterogenous antigens and the clonal expansion of Vβ 9 + and Vβ 20 + T cells may be a prognostic indicator of the immune responsiveness to IFN‐α.