Invasive human T lymphoma cells produce a novel factor that upregulates expression of adhesion molecules on endothelial cells.

The interaction between lymphoma cells and vascular endothelial cells (EC) is the first critical step in the invasion of lymphoma cells. We found that invasive human CCRF-CEM T lymphoma cells (CEM) released a factor that upregulates the expression of adhesion molecules on vascular EC. The supernatant of CEM (CEM-SUP) increased the expression of both ICAM-1 and ELAM-1 in time- and dose-dependent manners as shown by cell enzyme-linked immunoabsorbent assay (ELISA). In contrast, the induction of VCAM-1 on EC with CEM-SUP was relatively weak. No activity for interleukin-1 alpha (IL-1 alpha), IL-1 beta, interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma), or tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), which are known to augment ICAM-1 expression, was detected in CEM-SUP by ELISA. In reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay, CEM expressed a minimum amount of TNF-alpha mRNA, but absolutely no IL-1 beta or IFN-gamma mRNA. In addition, antibodies for cytokines did not inhibit the upregulatory effect of CEM-SUP. Semipurified CEM-SUP further increased the cellular binding between CEM cells and EC in vitro. This factor was stable to heat (65 degrees C, 30 minutes) and labile to acid (pH 2.0). Gel filtration and chromatofocusing estimated its molecular weight at 50 kd, with an isoelectric point of pH 7.2. Production of this factor might contribute to the invasive character of CEM through upregulation of adhesion molecules on EC.