Cloning of two genes that are specifically expressed in activated cytotoxic T lymphocytes.

The intracellular events leading to cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) activation and the molecular mechanism of target-cell lysis remain largely unknown. Differential hybridization analysis of a library constructed from a cloned CTL line was used to identify sequences specifically expressed in CTL. Two clones were selected for extensive analysis. No evidence for expression of their mRNAs was found in helper T-cell lines, thymocytes, lipopolysaccharide-activated B cells, interferon-treated natural killer cells, and a number of nonlymphoid cells. Blot-hybridization analysis of CTL mRNA revealed that one clone detected a single 900-nucleotide mRNA, whereas the other hybridized to two mRNAs of 900 and 1200 nucleotides, respectively. The maximum expression of these mRNAs precedes the peak of cytotoxicity in an in vitro allogeneic or mitogen-induced cytotoxic response by 24 hr; thus, they both fulfill the primary prerequisite for genes encoding proteins that are important in either CTL activation or in the lytic process itself.