DOMINANT CLONES IN IMMORTALIZED T-CELL LINES FROM RHEUMATOID-ARTHRITIS SYNOVIAL MEMBRANES

Transformation of human T cells by herpesvirus saimiri allows the prod uction of an unlimited number of T cells which express a functional T- cell receptor. In this study we transformed four T-cell lines derived from rheumatoid arthritis synovial membranes. The transformed T cells were mainly CD4(+) and expressed the phenotype of activated T cells. T hey were grown for more than 1 year in the absence of mitogen or feede r cells, and three of them could be maintained without exogenous IL-2. The presence of viral DNA in the transformed cells was shown by in si tu hybridization with a probe from the H-DNA region of the virus. No i nfectious virus could be recovered from the transformed cells. The rel ative proportion of the 24 different V beta families between the four transformed lines showed variations that increased with time. In the t wo T-cell lines transformed at an early stage of culture, the V beta 2 family was maintained at about 10%. The dominant V beta 2 clones that previously have been characterized in the patient were found in all t ransformed T-cell lines. We have thus shown the feasibility of obtaini ng transformed T cells from synovial membranes. They contain the domin ant clones that are considered of potential importance for the disease , permitting further functional studies.