ESTABLISHMENT AND CHARACTERIZATION OF A PLASMA-CELL LEUKEMIA-CELL LINE DEPENDENT FOR GROWTH ON IL-6 AND A BI-PHENOTYPIC SUBCLONE DEPENDENT UPON BOTH IL-3 AND IL-6

A human plasma cell leukaemia cell line (HSM-2) and a subclone (HSM-2.3) have been established from the bone marrow of a patient with bi-phenotypic leukaemia. Proliferation assays using a variety of cytokines demonstrated that HSM-2 proliferated in response to recombinant interleukin-6 (rIL-6), but did not respond to rIL-1, rIL-2, rIL-3, rIL-4, rIL-5, recombinant granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (rG-CSF), or recombinant granulocyte-macrophage-colony stimulating factor (rGM-CSF), and that HSM-2.3 responded to rIL-3 and rIL-6. HSM-2 expressed the CD38 (OKT10), PCA-1, cytoplasmic-IgM, and surface kappa light chain. HSM-2.3 expressed the CD14 (My4), CD33 (My9), CD38 (OKT10), CD19 (B4), CD24 (OKB2), CD10 (J5), PCA-1. HSM-2 and HSM-2.3 are useful tools for analysing the possible role of IL-3 and IL-6 in the oncogenesis of plasma cell leukaemia.