To examine whether products of the immune system interact with the pancreatic beta-cell, rat insulinoma cells (RIN-m5F line) were cultured in the presence of conditioned medium from concanavalin A-activated mouse spleen cells (CAS medium). Indirect immunofluorescence and flow cytometry revealed that after culture in CAS medium, RIN-m5F cells had an 8- to 10-fold increase in class I major histocompatibility complex (MHC) proteins, whereas class II MHC proteins remained undetectable, and the level of insulin and/or insulin-like growth factor 1 receptors was unchanged. The stimulation of class I MHC expression on RIN-m5F cells by CAS medium could be mimicked by recombinant interferon-gamma. Analysis of 125I-surface-labeled cells by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and autoradiography revealed that in the presence of CAS medium, there was a major increase in the expression of proteins of 48,000, 32,000, and 12,000 Mr and a minor increase in proteins of 17,000 and 9,000 Mr. Precipitation with monoclonal antibody identified the 48,000- and 12,000-Mr proteins as the class I MHC protein and beta 2-microglobulin, respectively. The ability of lymphokine-conditioned medium to increase the expression of RIN-m5F cell surface proteins, including the class I MHC proteins, provides a potential mechanism for enhancing the immune-mediated destruction of the beta-cell.