Restimulation properties of cloned alloactivated lymphocytes: detection of a novel type of HLA-D/DR region determinant and allelic subtypes for HLA-Dw3 using cloned reagents.

Lymphocytes alloactivated by Dw3 homozygous typing cells were cloned by the method of limiting dilution and cultured for prolonged periods using T-cell growth factor and irradiated pooled leukocytes (as feeder cells). Restimulation specificity of two clones functioning as primed lymphocyte typing reagents was investigated in panel and family studies. Cells from one of the clones (12-2) were always specifically stimulated by HLA-Dw3 antigens shared between the original priming cells and the stimulating panel cells. In an informative family KOH, however, cells from this clone seemed to detect a split in the Dw3 cluster. Cells from the other clone (12-8) failed to respond to Dw3 antigens as expressed by the original priming cells or by panel stimulating cells; rather, specificity of restimulation seemed to be associated with the expression of Dw4 antigens. Family segregation analysis did not support this conclusion however, since stimulating products segregated with one of the three Dw3-bearing haplotypes and with none of three Dw4-bearing haplotypes. This suggested that 12-8 cells may be responsive to antigens different from those detected by homozygous typing cells.