Although IL-2 receptor beta chain (IL-2R beta) expressed in various lymphoid cell lines binds IL-2 with an intermediate affinity, IL-2R beta expressed in fibroblasts is unable to bind IL-2, suggesting that IL-2R beta is on its own not sufficient for generating the intermediate-affinity receptor and that lymphoid-specific regulatory control may be operated to allow IL-2R beta to bind IL-2. In the present study, we observed that human IL-2R beta expressed in a mouse myeloma X63-Ag8.653 (X63) by cDNA transfection did not bind IL-2, while the same IL-2R beta expressed in an IL-6-dependent mouse B cell hybridoma F12-28, which was obtained by cell fusion between X63 and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced lymphoblasts, bound IL-2 with the intermediate affinity. Interestingly, when the human IL-2R beta cDNA-transfected X63 clone, which by itself manifests no IL-2 binding, was fused with LPS-induced lymphoblasts, the resultant hybridomas manifested intermediate-affinity IL-2 binding. The IL-2 binding was specifically inhibited by addition of antihuman IL-2R beta mAb (Mik-beta 1) but not by mAb against mouse IL-2R subunits, indicating that human IL-2R beta was responsible for the IL-2 binding, i.e. non-functional human IL-2R beta in X63 was converted to competent IL-2R beta by complementation with a mouse spleen cell-derived factor(s) through the cell fusion. Cross-linking experiments with [125I]IL-2 revealed the presence of a 61 kDa protein other than IL-2R beta in cells expressing the intermediate-affinity IL-2R.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)