Analysis of T cell receptor V beta expression in rabbit T lymphocytes induced to proliferate by an HTLV-I-transformed leukemogenic T cell line.

Peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) from rabbits of the Chbb:HM strain proliferated in coculture with an X-ray-irradiated HTLV-I-transformed leukemogenic cell line of (B/J x Chbb:HM) F1 origin, whereas PBL from rabbits of the B/J and F1 strains hardly proliferated at all in co-culture with the same cell line. A proviral HTLV-I genome was detected in high-molecular-mass DNA from these proliferating cells. An analysis of T cell receptor V beta expression revealed that these lymphocytes were of restricted V beta subfamilies, suggesting that the preferential stimulation and transformation of lymphocytes occurred in this co-culture. Staphylococcal enterotoxins similarly stimulated lymphocytes and the proliferated lymphocytes were mostly of distinct V beta subfamilies depending on stimulator enterotoxins. These results suggested that the leukemogenic cell line possesses an antigen that preferentially stimulates lymphocytes of restricted V beta subfamilies.