INTEREST OF ARGYROPHILIC PROTEINS NUCLEOLAR ORGANIZER REGIONS (AGNOR)TO ESTIMATE THE REACTIVITY OF T-CELL CLONES AGAINST AUTOLOGOUS MALIGNANT B-NHL CELLS

The silver-stained acidic proteins of interphase nucleolar organizer r egions (AgNOR) were studied to assess the reactivity of 11 T cell clon es (Tee) against autologous B-NHL cells. Tee, derived from tumour-infi ltrating T lymphocytes of seven patients, were cultured in the presenc e of irradiated autologous B-NHL cells with recombinant IL-2, Then the percentage of activated T cells expressing the CD25 antigen and their proliferating rate (measured by [H-3]thymidine incorporation) were es timated. Simultaneously, at the end of this culture period, B-NHL cell s were eliminated by using a cell-sorter, and the resulting purified T cells were studied for AgNOR expression. Tee cultured without B-NHL c ells served as controls, In eight out of the 11 Tee, the increase in [ 3H]thymidine incorporation and CD25 expression paralleled the increase of AgNOR area and number. By contrast, in the three remaining Tee, we observed a decrease (one Tee) or an increase (two Tee) of AgNOR param eters, whereas CD25 expression and/or [H-3]thymidine incorporation rem ained unchanged in comparison to control cultures. We concluded that q uantification of AgNOR should be a more sensitive technique than thymi dine incorporation and CD25 expression for detecting the activation in vitro of T cells induced by autologous B-NHL cells.