The effect of target cell differentiation on human natural killer cell activity: a specific defect in target cell binding and early activation events

• Published in: The Journal of immunology (1950) Vol. 129; no. 1; pp. 413 - 418
• Main Authors: Werkmeister, J A, Helfand, S L, Haliotis, T, Pross, H F, Roder, J C
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01-07-1982
• Subjects: Binding Sites; Butyrates; Cell Transformation, Neoplastic - chemically induced; Cell Transformation, Neoplastic - metabolism; Cytotoxicity, Immunologic; Granulocytes - cytology; Humans; Hydrogen Peroxide - metabolism; Interferons - pharmacology; Leukemia, Erythroblastic, Acute - genetics; Leukemia, Erythroblastic, Acute - immunology; Leukemia, Erythroblastic, Acute - metabolism; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute - immunology; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute - metabolism; Lymphocyte Activation; Macrophages - cytology; Phenotype; Superoxides - metabolism
• ISSN: 0022-1767; 1550-6606
• DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.129.1.413

Induced differentiation of K562 and HL-60 cultures was associated with a concomitant decrease in natural killer (NK) susceptibility of these target cells. The erythroleukemic cell line K562 was induced to undergo erythroid differentiation with optimal concentrations of 1 mM sodium butyrate or 0.1 mM hemin, and HL-60, a promyelocytic leukemia cell line, was induced to differentiate along the myeloid series (mature granulocytes) with 1.12% dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) or along the monocytic lineage with 1.6 x 10 super(-7) M 12-tetra-decanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA). The kinetics of cellular differentiation was closely associated with changes in susceptibility to NK-mediated lysis. In addition, the NK super(R)-differentiated K562 cultures were defective in inducing superoxide radical generation from Percoll-enriched NK cells; the authors have shown previously that this induction is associated with an early post-recognition event in the NK lytic pathway. Further analysis of the surface molecules lost or gained during controlled differentiation may lead to a better understanding of NK-target antigens.