Dick van Wichen

The adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) tumor suppressor protein binds to beta-catenin, a protein recently shown to interact with Tcf and Lef transcription factors. The gene encoding hTcf-4, a Tcf family member that is expressed in colonic epithelium, was cloned and characterized. hTcf-4 transactivates transcription only when associated with beta-catenin. Nuclei of APC-/- colon carcinoma cells were found to contain a stable beta-catenin-hTcf-4 complex that was constitutively active, as measured by transcription of a Tcf reporter gene. Reintroduction of APC removed beta-catenin from hTcf-4 and abrogated the transcriptional transactivation. Constitutive transcription of Tcf target genes, caused by loss of APC function, may be a crucial event in the early transformation of colonic epithelium.

Follicular dendritic cells (FDC) from axillary lymphoid tissue of a patient with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) were analyzed for the presence of gag and env proteins and env mRNA of human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1), both in a purified FDC suspension and on frozen sections. Isolated cells with morphologic and immunocytochemical features of FDC expressed HIV-1 core (gag) proteins p15, p17, p24, and envelope (env) protein gp41; in addition HIV-1 env mRNA was detected in some of these cells. This corresponded with intense expression of HIV-1 proteins by FDC in germinal centers in situ, and the presence of HIV-1 mRNA-positive cells in germinal follicles. These findings led us to conclude that FDC are infected and able to produce HIV-1. Such infection may contribute significantly to the destruction of the FDC network during the lymphadenopathy phase after HIV-1 infection.

Although allograft rejection, the major complication of human organ transplantation, has been extensively studied, little is known about the exact cellular localization of the cytokine expression inside the graft during rejection. Therefore, we used in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry to study local cytokine mRNA and protein expression in human heart allografts, in relation to the phenotypical characteristics of the cellular infiltrate. Clear expression of mRNA for interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, IL-9, and IL-10 and weak expression for IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha was detected in biopsies exhibiting high rejection grades (grade 3A/B). Also at lower grades of rejection, mRNA for IL-6 and IL-9 was present. Some mRNA for IL-1 beta, TNF-beta, and interferon (IFN)-gamma was detected in only a few biopsies. Using immunohistochemistry, IL-2, IL-3, and IL-10 protein was detected in biopsies with high rejection grades, whereas few cells expressed IL-6, IL-8, and IFN-gamma. In biopsies with lower grades of rejection, a weaker expression of these cytokines was observed. IL-4 was hardly detected in any of the biopsies. The level of IL-12 expression was equal in all biopsies. Although mRNA expression of several cytokines was expressed at a low level compared with the protein level of those cytokines, there was a good correlation between localization of cytokine mRNA and protein. Expression of IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, TNF-alpha, and IFN-gamma was mainly detected in lymphocytes. IL-3, IL-6, IL-10, and IL-12 were not detected or not only detected in lymphocytes but also in other stromal elements (eg, macrophages). Macrophage production of IL-3 and IL-12 was confirmed by immunofluorescent double labeling with CD68. We conclude that cardiac allograft rejection is not simply regulated by T helper cell cytokine production, but other intragraft elements contribute considerably to this process.

The TCF-1 gene encodes a putative transcription factor with affinity for a sequence motif occurring in a number of T-cell enhancers. TCF-1 mRNA was originally found to be expressed in a T cell-specific fashion within a set of human and mouse cell lines. In contrast, expression reportedly occurs in multiple nonlymphoid tissues during murine embryogenesis. We have now raised a monoclonal antibody to document expression and biochemistry of the human TCF-1 protein. As expected, the TCF-1 protein was detectable only in cell lines of T lineage. Its expression was always restricted to the nucleus. Immunohistochemistry on a panel of human tissues revealed that the TCF-1 protein was found exclusively in thymocytes and in CD3+ T cells in peripheral lymphoid tissues. Western blotting yielded a set of bands ranging from 25 kD to 55 kD, resulting from extensive alternative splicing. The TCF-1 protein was detectable in all samples of a set of 22 T-cell malignancies of various stages of maturation, but was absent from a large number of other hematologic neoplasms. These observations imply a T cell-specific function for TCF-1, a notion corroborated by recent observations on Tcf-1 knock-out mice. In addition, these results indicate that nuclear TCF-1 expression can serve as a pan-T-lineage marker in the diagnosis of lymphoid malignancies.