Generation of HLA-B55 restricted T lymphocyte mediated cytotoxicity against autologous LCL.

The lymphocytes of one HLA-A11 positive individual (A1, A11, B49, B55) were stimulated in vitro with the autologous EBV transformed lymphoblastoid cell line (LCL). The culture contained HLA-A1, A11 and B55 restricted, LCL selective cytotoxic T cells (CTLs). In the T cell culture stimulated four times, the lysis of A11 and B55 carrying targets suggested that the subsets of the two latter CTL types had similar size. After further stimulations the B55 restricted CTLs were enriched in the culture. Earlier results suggested that in HLA-A11 positive individuals the A11-restricted LCL-selective CTL subset dominates. The sensitivity of a target panel including Burkitt lymphoma (BL) lines suggested that the peptide presented by the B55 molecule differs in A and B type EBV strain carrying cells.