2002 Volume 78 Issue 4 Pages 91-95
U1B3.3 monoclonal antibody (mAb) was established by immunizing a rat with the tMK-2U lymphoma cell line, derived from athymic nude mice. U1B3.3 mAb recognizes some T cell populations, B cells and natural killer (NK) cells. U1B3.3+ T cells express CD3/T cell receptor (TCR) complex at a unique intensity: between that of TCR-intermediate cells (TCRint cells) and TCRbright cells. TCRint cells strongly express the interleukin-2 receptor β chain (IL-2Rβ), but almost all U1B3.3+ T cells express high or low levels of IL-2Rβ. When purified U1B3.3+ NK1.1-T cells were cultured with IL-2, approximately 14% of the cells acquired expression of NK1.1 molecules, which are expressed on NK cells and natural killer T (NKT) cells. Furthermore, U1B3.3+ NK1.1-T cells killed tumor cells after culture with IL-2. These results indicate that U1B3.3 mAb recognizes a precursor of NK1.1+ cytotoxic T cells generated by IL-2.
