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Enumeration andCharacterization of Human Killer and Natural Killer Cells by a Modified Single‐Cell Assay
Author(s) -
WÅHLIN B.,
ALSHEIKHLY A.,
PERLMANN P.,
SCHREIBER R. D.,
MÜLLEREBERHARD H. J.
Publication year - 1984
Publication title -
scandinavian journal of immunology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.934
H-Index - 88
eISSN - 1365-3083
pISSN - 0300-9475
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-3083.1984.tb00964.x
Subject(s) - cytotoxic t cell , mastocytoma , lymphokine activated killer cell , biology , cytotoxicity , effector , natural killer cell , natural killer t cell , microbiology and biotechnology , interleukin 21 , interleukin 12 , cell , in vitro , immunology , biochemistry
Human natural killer (NK) and killer (K) cells were assayed in a modified single‐cell cytotoxicity assay using poly‐L‐lysine‐coated cover slips. When human Chang liver cells were used as targets, 20% of the lymphocytes formed conjugates and 2% were active NK cells. When anti‐Chang antibodies were present, the proportion of target‐binding cells (TBC) increased to 30% and that of the cytotoxic effector cells (comprising NK + K) to 6%. With the mouse mastocytoma cells (P815), which are not susceptible to NK, similar proportions of lymphocytes formed conjugates, and 6–9% were active as K cells. By an in situ rosetting assay a significant fraction of the TBC and cytotoxic effector cells bound either C3b or C3bi in both systems, with a certain predominance of C3bi‐binding cells among the K cells. However, by indirect immunofluorescence, significantly more OKT3 + cells than OKM1 + cells were TBC or cytotoxic in the Chang cell system, whereas the OKT3 + /OKM1 + ratios for both TBC and cytotoxic cells were 1:1 in the mouse mastocytoma system. The results indicate that TBC, NK and K cells are heterogeneous with respect to surface marker expression and that effector cells of different phenotypes predominate in different target systems.