Gamma delta T cell recognition of tumor Ig peptide.

Although gamma delta T cells have been postulated to act as a surveillance mechanism that eliminates transformed or otherwise damaged cells, little is known about tumor recognition by gamma delta T cells, including the Ags that are recognized and the molecules that present them. Previously, we described human gamma delta CTL that recognize the autologous B cell lymphoma. Here we report that these gamma delta CTL lyse heterologous cells transfected with the tumor Ig lambda chain gene. Furthermore, the lambda chain is recognized as processed peptide in an Id-specific manner. T cell recognition does not involve classical MHC molecules, but it could be blocked by Abs directed against the heat shock protein grp75. These findings show a specific gamma delta T cell response to a highly polymorphic Ag such as tumor Id and implicate heat shock protein as a molecule required for recognition.