Non-H-2-linked genetic control of murine cell-mediated lympholysis to autologous cells modified with fluorescein isothiocyanate (FTC-self).

Spleen cells from mouse strains expressing the H-2b haplotype (C57BL/6J, C57BL/6N, C57BL/10J, and C3H.SW) were compared for their ability to generate primary in vitro cytotoxic responses to autologous cells modified with either fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) (FTC-self) or trinitrobenzene sulfonate (TNBS) (TNP-self). The resulting hapten-specific cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) responses were assayed on hapten-self Con A blast target cells. Among the four H-2b strains tested, C57BL/6J and C57BL/6N were high responders, whereas C57BL/10J and C3H.SW were low responders for CTL generated against FTC-self. Studies using (C57BL/6J x C3H.SW)F1 responding cells and F1 or parenteral-modified stimulating cells indicated that the F1 cells generated cytotoxic activity equivalent to that of the high-responder strain C57BL/6J. Further comparisons of the C57BL/6J and C2H.SW strains indicated that C57BL/6J is a high responder to both FTC-self and TNP-self, whereas C3H.SW is a high responder to TNP-self but a low responder to FTC-self. The results of this study indicate that non-H-2-linked genetic control of CTL response to hapten-self depends not only on the self determinant but also on the foreign antigens.