Murine T cell replacing factor (TRF) was purified from a cellfree supernatant of a T cell hybridoma (B151K12) that constitutively produces TRF. Two assay systems for TRF activity were employed: 1) induction of anti-DNP IgG PFC responses in cultures of splenic B cells from DNP-KLH-primed BALB/c mice, and 2) induction of IgM PFC in chronic B cell leukemic cells (BCL1). The purification scheme con...

Most lymphoid malignancies are initiated by specific chromosomal translocations between immunoglobulin (Ig)/T cell receptor (TCR) gene segments and cellular proto-oncogenes. In many cases, illegitimate V(D)J recombination has been proposed to be involved in the translocation process, but this has never been functionally established. Using extra-chromosomal recombination assays, we determined th...

IL-2 and IL-4 induce a synergistic proliferative response in HT-2 cells, suggesting that IL-2Rs and IL-4Rs may interact. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of IL-4 on the expression and function of IL-2Rs. Preincubation of HT-2 and BCL1-3B3 cells with IL-4 for 60 min at 4 degrees C or 37 degrees C resulted in a partial decrease in the number, but not the affinity of high affini...

The completion of the human genome sequence will greatly accelerate development of a new branch of bioscience and provide fundamental knowledge to biomedical research. We used the sequence information to measure replication timing of the entire lengths of human chromosomes 11q and 21q. Megabase-sized zones that replicate early or late in S phase (thus early/late transition) were defined at the ...

Approximately 1.3% of males and 1% of females in Europe and North America develop leukaemia. CLL is the most common of its subtypes, constituting about 30% of all cases. Its incidence rate increases logarithmically from age 35 and has a median age of onset of 64 years. No single cytogenetic abnormality or gene mutation is found in all CLL cases. However, activation of each of the oncogenes BCL1...

Monoclonal antibody (mAb)-based immunotherapy is now established as an important option for treating some cancers. The antitumor effects may be further enhanced by combining mAb with conventional chemotherapy. Certain novel immunomodulatory mAbs such as anti-CD40 have shown significant activity in preclinical models. We therefore assessed the efficacy of combining anti-CD40 mAb, known to elicit...

Although it is known that the unfolded protein response (UPR) plays a significant role in the process of plasma cell differentiation, the contribution of the individual sensors of the UPR to this process remains unclear. In this study we examine the death signals and compensatory survival signals activated during B cell activation and the first stages of plasma cell differentiation. During in v...