Interleukin 12 (IL-12) facilitates the generation of a T helper type 1 (Th1) response, with high interferon gamma (IFN-gamma) production, while inhibiting the generation of IL-4-producing Th2 cells in polyclonal cultures of both human and murine T cells and in vivo in the mouse. In this study, we analyzed the effect of IL-12, present during cloning of human T cells, on the cytokine profile of the clones. The culture system used allows growth of clones from virtually every T cell, and thus excludes the possibility that selection of precommitted Th cell precursors plays a role in determining characteristics of the clones. IL-12 present during the cloning procedures endowed both CD4+ and CD8+ clones with the ability to produce IFN-gamma at levels severalfold higher than those observed in clones generated in the absence of IL-12. This priming was stable because the high levels of IFN-gamma production were maintained when the clones were cultured in the absence of IL-12 for 11 d. The CD4+ and some of the CD8+ clones produced variable amounts of IL-4. Unlike IFN-gamma, IL-4 production was not significantly different in clones generated in the presence or absence of IL-12. These data suggest that IL-12 primes the clone progenitors, inducing their differentiation to high IFN-gamma-producing clones. The suppression of IL-4-producing cells observed in polyclonally generated T cells in vivo and in vitro in the presence of IL-12 is not observed in this clonal model, suggesting that the suppression depends more on positive selection of non-IL-4-producing cells than on differentiation of individual clones. However, antigen-specific established Th2 clones that were unable to produce IFN-gamma with any other inducer did produce IFN-gamma at low but significant levels when stimulated with IL-12 in combination with specific antigen or insoluble anti-CD3 antibodies. This induction of IFN-gamma gene expression was transient, because culture of the established clones with IL-12 for up to 1 wk did not convert them into IFN-gamma producers when stimulated in the absence of IL-12. These results suggest that Th clones respond to IL-12 treatment either with a stable priming for IFN-gamma production or with only a transient low level expression of the IFN-gamma gene, depending on their stage of differentiation.
Article|
April 01 1994
Interleukin 12 induces stable priming for interferon gamma (IFN-gamma) production during differentiation of human T helper (Th) cells and transient IFN-gamma production in established Th2 cell clones.
R Manetti,
R Manetti
Division of Clinical Immunology and Allergy, University of Florence, Italy.
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F Gerosa,
F Gerosa
Division of Clinical Immunology and Allergy, University of Florence, Italy.
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M G Giudizi,
M G Giudizi
Division of Clinical Immunology and Allergy, University of Florence, Italy.
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R Biagiotti,
R Biagiotti
Division of Clinical Immunology and Allergy, University of Florence, Italy.
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P Parronchi,
P Parronchi
Division of Clinical Immunology and Allergy, University of Florence, Italy.
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M P Piccinni,
M P Piccinni
Division of Clinical Immunology and Allergy, University of Florence, Italy.
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S Sampognaro,
S Sampognaro
Division of Clinical Immunology and Allergy, University of Florence, Italy.
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E Maggi,
E Maggi
Division of Clinical Immunology and Allergy, University of Florence, Italy.
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S Romagnani,
S Romagnani
Division of Clinical Immunology and Allergy, University of Florence, Italy.
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G Trinchieri
G Trinchieri
Division of Clinical Immunology and Allergy, University of Florence, Italy.
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R Manetti
Division of Clinical Immunology and Allergy, University of Florence, Italy.
F Gerosa
Division of Clinical Immunology and Allergy, University of Florence, Italy.
M G Giudizi
Division of Clinical Immunology and Allergy, University of Florence, Italy.
R Biagiotti
Division of Clinical Immunology and Allergy, University of Florence, Italy.
P Parronchi
Division of Clinical Immunology and Allergy, University of Florence, Italy.
M P Piccinni
Division of Clinical Immunology and Allergy, University of Florence, Italy.
S Sampognaro
Division of Clinical Immunology and Allergy, University of Florence, Italy.
E Maggi
Division of Clinical Immunology and Allergy, University of Florence, Italy.
S Romagnani
Division of Clinical Immunology and Allergy, University of Florence, Italy.
G Trinchieri
Division of Clinical Immunology and Allergy, University of Florence, Italy.
Online ISSN: 1540-9538
Print ISSN: 0022-1007
J Exp Med (1994) 179 (4): 1273–1283.
Citation
R Manetti, F Gerosa, M G Giudizi, R Biagiotti, P Parronchi, M P Piccinni, S Sampognaro, E Maggi, S Romagnani, G Trinchieri; Interleukin 12 induces stable priming for interferon gamma (IFN-gamma) production during differentiation of human T helper (Th) cells and transient IFN-gamma production in established Th2 cell clones.. J Exp Med 1 April 1994; 179 (4): 1273–1283. doi: https://doi.org/10.1084/jem.179.4.1273
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