Abstract
The role of interleukin 2 (IL2) and interferon (IFN)-γ in the maintenance of natural killer (NK)-like activity mediated by human cytolytic T cell clones was investigated. When cultured in standard supernatant (SN) obtained by phytohemagglutinin stimulation of human mononuclear cells (containing both IL2 and IFN activities), several mixed lymphocyte culture-derived clones displayed cytolytic activity directed against the K562 cell line; in addition, some of these clones also lysed specific target cells bearing the sensitizing alloantigens. When cultured in IL2-containing SN obtained from the Jurkat cell line, the NK-like activity was selectively abrogated within 4-5 days. However, by culturing cells again in standard SN the cytolytic activity was completely restored. The possibility that inhibitory molecules in Jurkat SN could be responsibe for the loss of NK-like activity was ruled out by experiments showing that cytotoxicity could be induced by mixtures of Jurkat and standard SN. In addition, a source of affinity chromatography-purified IL2 also failed to maintain NK-like activity. Moreover, addition of recombinant IFN-γ in combination with purified IL2 did not prevent the loss of NK-like activity. The present results indicate that neither IL2 nor IFN-γ are sufficient to maintain NK-like activity and suggest that other molecule(s) are required.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1137-1141 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | European Journal of Immunology |
Volume | 14 |
Issue number | 12 |
Publication status | Published - 1984 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Immunology