Differentiation from precursors in normal bone marrow of spontaneously cytotoxic cells showing anti-self-MHC specificity.

Colonies containing spontaneously cytotoxic effector cells with specificity for target cells carrying self-MHC can be grown from normal mouse bone marrow (BM). BM was first depleted of nylon wool-adherent cells and was then cultured at low cell number (1 to 300 cells/culture) in multiple replicate microcultures in liquid culture medium containing supernatant from EL4 thymoma cells stimulated with PMA. Frequency of colony growth followed one-hit limiting dilution kinetics. Colonies contained lymphoid, myeloid, or both kinds of cells. About 5% of colonies contained self-specific cytotoxic effector cells. Analysis using the X chromosome-linked isoenzyme PGK-1 confirmed that colonies containing autoreactivity could be clonal. A factor other than IL 2, IL 3, or PMA appears to be required for the growth of autoreactive colonies. Similar colonies, both with and without autoreactive effector cells, could also be grown from the BM of athymic nude mice with frequencies and cytotoxic activities directly comparable to those found for normal BM. C.B-17 scid mice lack both B and T cells, apparently due to a block in the development of lymphoid stem cells. Colonies could be grown with comparable frequency from their BM, but these colonies lacked both lymphoid cells and spontaneous cytotoxic activity. Evidence is presented against the self-reactive effector cells being NK cells, macrophages, or mature T cells. It is speculated that they represent an early stage of the T cell differentiation pathway.