B cell growth factors and B cell differentiation factor from human T hybridomas. Two distinct kinds of B cell growth factor and their synergism in B cell proliferation.

Human T hybridomas secreting B cell growth factors (BCGF) and B cell differentiation factor (BCDF) have been established. Hybrid clones 77-A, 94-C, and 98-F secreted BCGF that induced proliferation of anti-IgM-stimulated normal B cells. The culture supernatant from 77-A cells could also maintain continuous proliferation of colony-forming B cells, but the factor from 94-C could not. The addition of the supernatant from 94-C cells to that from 77-A cells, however, synergistically augmented the proliferation of colony-forming B cells, demonstrating the existence of two distinct kinds of BCGF and the synergism between them. These supernatants, however, showed no interleukin 2 (IL-2) or BCDF activity. A hybrid clone, 90-E, secreted BCDF. The culture supernatant induced Ig production in Cowan I-stimulated normal B cells or in a transformed B cell line, CESS. However, the supernatant had no BCGF or IL-2 activity. Anti-Ig-stimulated B cells, but not IL-2-dependent T cells, absorbed BCGF activity and CESS cells absorbed BCDF activity but not BCGF activity in the culture supernatants from T hybridomas. Taken collectively, the results demonstrated that IL-2, BCGF, and BCDF were different molecules and acceptors specific for the each molecule are present on the each target cell.