Studies of human natural killer cells. II. Analysis at the single cell level
Rubin, P.; Pross, H.F.; Roder, J.C.
Journal of Immunology 128(6): 2553-2558
1982
ISSN/ISBN: 0022-1767 PMID: 7042839 Document Number: 185224
The nature of conjugate-forming and lytic conjugate-forming lymphocytes, their relationship to natural killer (NK) cells and the use of the lytic conjugate-forming cell (LCFC) assay with rosettes (Fc receptor-positive cells) and cells positive for OKT3, OKT4, Mac-1, OKM1 and HNK-1. Very few surface Ig-positive cells were CFC. The CFC population was 2- to 3-fold enriched in cells positive for the monocyte/null cell markers OKM1 and Mac-1 and the NK cell marker HNK-1. Analysis of the LCFC showed a highly singificant correlation between NK cytotoxicity and LCFC frequency, leading to the conclusion that LCFC are indeed NK cells, and that the frequency of LCFC vs. K562 is an accurate measure of NK cell frequency. Comparison of NK frequency vs. overall cytotoxicity of a group of well-defined normal donors indicated that the characteristic level of NK activity seen for different inidividuals was primarily due to differences in NK frequency. Two examples of abnormal NK functin in patients were used to illustrate the potential of the technique. Both patients had markedly reduced cytotoxicity per effector cell, one with a comparatively high NK frequency in asosciation with T-.gamma. proliferation, and the other, a patient on immunosuppressive drugs, with a normal NK frequency. The combination of assays to measure NK frequency and overall NK cytotoxic activity will permit a better understanding of NK function in vivo.