Objective: To analyze the drift of the complementarity-determining region 3 (CDR3) of T cell receptor beta (TCRbeta) chain variable region in T cells of healthy volunteers cultured with interleukin-2 (IL-2).
Methods: T cells were isolated from the peripheral blood and cultured in vitro in the presence of IL-2. The non-specific killing effect of the cells was analyzed by LDH releasing assay, and the distribution of TCRbeta chain CDR3 in healthy volunteers by immunoscope spectratyping method to evaluate the clonality of the T cells.
Results: The results showed Gaussian distribution of TCR Vbeta gene CDR3 in healthy volunteers. The T cell cultured with IL-2, however, displayed some anomalous and oligoclonal expansion in different TCR Vbeta families without killing effect against nasophargngal carcinoma cell line CNE2.
Conclusion: IL-2 may affect TCRbeta chain CDR3 distribution in T cells cultured in vitro.