The effects of passive anti-viral immunotherapy in AKR mice: II susceptibility to B cell lymphomagenesis

Prevention of high frequency spontaneous T cell lymphoma development in AKR mice by mAb 18-5 treatment was shown to involve inhibition of the recombinant Class I MCF virus formation and elimination of the early occurring potential lymphoma cells (PLCs). A low B cell lymphoma incidence (16% at a mean latency of 540 days) and a low level of PLCs (yielding 12% B cell lymphoma development following lymphoid cell transfer) was observed in mAb 18-5 treated mice (in contrast to a high PLC level in thymectomized AKR mice that could be experimentally triggered to progress to overt CD5⁺ B cell lymphomas). Administration of anti CD8 mAb or IL-4 to 12-month-old mAb 18-5 pre-treated mice only slightly increased B cell lymphoma incidence (up to 30-40%). Exposure to split-dose irradiation resulted in 26% B cell lymphomas at a 250 day mean latency. The phenotypes of the B lymphomas developing in mAb 18-5 treated mice were: B220⁺ (14.8⁺, 6B₂⁺), 6C₃⁺, Mac-2⁺, CD5^-. Most lymphomas expressed I-a and surface IgM, pointing to their mature B cell characteristics. Moreover, in some of the lymphomas, high levels of IgM production and secretion were determined. A comparison of the morphological characteristics (based on light and ultrastructure microscopy) of CD5⁺ and CD5^- B cell lymphomas developing in AKR mice indicated marked differences. Analysis of the IgH locus of representative CD5^- B lymphomas showed an identical pattern of IgH rearrangement in some tumors (similar to previous findings among CD5⁺ lymphomas). The virological analysis of the CD5^- B cell lymphomas (similar to those observed in the CD5⁺ B cell lymphomas of AKR origin) showed that their development did not require formation of the pathogenic MCF recombinant viruses. The differences observed between the CD5⁺ and CD5^- cell lymphomas developing in AKR mice (following prevention of spontaneous T cell lymphomagenesis) may be due to their origin of different B cell precursors or from B cells at different levels of differentiation.