A novel co-stimulatory T cell antigen co-expressed on renal cell carcinoma.

The A6H mAb raised primarily against human renal cell carcinoma (RCC) has previously been shown to bind strongly to RCC, to some degree to colon carcinoma but only marginally to a variety of normal tissues. Immunohistochemical analysis or RCC tissues containing tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes revealed that A6H stained both tumor cells and lymphocytes. FACS analysis of human peripheral blood cells demonstrated that A6H stained both tumor cells and lymphocytes. FACS analysis of human peripheral blood cells demonstrated that A6H mAb stained 85-90% of both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, but not granulocytes, monocytes, NK cells or B cells. Furthermore, 85-90% of naive and memory T helper cells were stained with A6H suggesting that the A6H mAb defines unique subsets within these T cell populations. Dual staining showed that A6H mAb bind to an antigen that is clearly distinct from other cell surface molecules on T cells, including CD28, CD29, CD26, CD44 and ICAM-2. A6H mAb binding induced a second signal in anti-CD3 mAb activated T cells, resulting in cell proliferation, IL-2 receptor expression and vigorous production of IFN-gamma and TNF, and production of minor amounts of IL-2. Immunoprecipitation with A6H mAb indicated a molecular weight of 120-140 kDa on both T cells and RCC. We suggest that the A6H mAb defines a unique T cell surface antigen which is involved in signal transduction and is expressed on subsets of human T cells. The co-expression of A6H on T cells and tumor cells suggests a possible function related to common properties of these cells.