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Ethanol and Natural Killer Cells. I. Activity and Immunophenotype in Alcoholic Humans
Author(s) -
Cook Robert T.,
Li Feng,
Vandersteen Daniel,
Ballas Zuhair K.,
Cook Brian L.,
LaBrecque Douglas R.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
alcoholism: clinical and experimental research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.267
H-Index - 153
eISSN - 1530-0277
pISSN - 0145-6008
DOI - 10.1111/j.1530-0277.1997.tb04240.x
Subject(s) - immunophenotyping , phenotype , biology , immunology , basal (medicine) , cd3 , natural killer cell , lymphocyte , alcoholic liver disease , k562 cells , flow cytometry , microbiology and biotechnology , cd8 , in vitro , cytotoxicity , endocrinology , medicine , immune system , biochemistry , gene , leukemia , cirrhosis , insulin
The human lymphocyte fraction with the greatest fresh killing activity against K562 targets is phenotypically the CD3 − CD19 − CD56 + subset There have been reports of reduced natural killer (NK) activity in human alcoholics, but overall consistency is lacking and phenotypic monitoring has been inadequate to allow reliable estimates of changes in the active cell fractions. We have evaluated a range of cell surface markers and fresh NK activity in controls and alcoholics, and now report abnormalities in both phenotype and function in some alcoholics, but a normal profile in others. Patients without evidence of active liver disease (AWLDs) tend to have normal fresh basal activities and phenotypic profiles. Patients with alcoholic liver disease (ALDs) have fewer Lin − lymphocytes that are CD56 + . Three of 14 ALDs assayed in the present work had absent NK activity, whereas others were activated. In normal controls and in AWLDs, the presence of monocytes in the lytic assay consistently inhibits lysis; but, in some patients with ALD, the presence of monocytes is stimulatoty to NK activity. In alcoholics as one group, there is a statistically significant dative increase in a novel Lin − subset of unknown function; this subset has a phenotype of Lin − CD56 − CD45RO + .