Differentiation of peanut lectin positive suppressor T-cells from peanut lectin negative precursors in bovine cells by 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate.

Although 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) can synergize with lectins to enhance lymphocyte proliferation, pretreatment of lymphocytes with TPA decreases their response. Pretreatment also inhibits the response to allogeneic cells in the mixed lymphocyte culture. In this study we determined that at least part of this inhibition was due to the generation of T-lymphocytes with the ability to suppress proliferation in vitro. By using populations enriched in lymphocytes or macrophages we determined that the interaction of TPA with lymphocytes, but not macrophages, was required to mediate the suppression. The number of macrophages present in culture (range, 0.5-10%) was irrelevant to the generation of inhibitory activity. Moreover, the TPA-induced suppressor activity copurified with T-cells. Furthermore, when peanut lectin (agglutinin) (PNA) was used to separate T-cells after treatment with TPA, essentially all of the activity copurified with the PNA positive cells. When PNA separations were carried out before treatment with TPA, the suppressor activity arose from the PNA negative fraction. Therefore, TPA appeared to cause phenotypically PNA negative T-cells to gain the PNA positive marker, as well as to function as suppressor cells in vitro. Suppressor activity was also found in the culture medium. Thus the suppression observed may be mediated through a soluble factor released by the TPA-treated cells. Although the suppressor cell activity induced by TPA can only partially account for its in vitro inhibition of lymphocyte proliferation, the development of suppressor cells merits further study with respect to lymphocyte phenotypic and functional differentiation. The results also suggest the possibility that similar processes could occur in vivo, possibly during the course of tumor promotion.