Human B lymphocytes produce leukocyte interferon after interaction with foreign cells.

Enriched human B-cell populations cocultivated with xenogeneic or allogeneic tumor cells produced 1,000 to 10,000 U of leukocyte interferon per ml. In contrast, cocultivation of enriched plastic-adherent or T-cell populations with xenogeneic or allogeneic cells produced only 10 to 30 U of interferon. The population of cells producing the interferon absorbed to nylon wool and not sheep erythrocytes. They showed a strong mitogenic response to the B-cell mitogen Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide but not the T-cell mitogen staphylococcal enterotoxin A. In addition, treatment of this cell population with goat anti-human immunoglobulin M and complement depleted the cell population synthesizing the interferon. Together, these in vitro findings strongly suggest that the cells producing most of the interferon after interacting with foreign cells belong to the B-cell population. These results also suggest that the cells that produce most of the leukocyte interferon after interacting in vivo with tumors or other cells made foreign to the body by certain viruses most likely belong to the B-lymphocyte population.