Gene rearrangement in cells with natural killer activity and expression of the β-chain of the T-cell antigen receptor

Abstract

The mammalian host defence system can be divided broadly into adaptive and non-adaptive immunity. Adaptive immunity is acquired and is mediated by B and T lymphocytes. Non-adaptive immunity is mediated in part by a small subclass of heterogeneous peripheral blood mononuclear cells. This population, termed null cells, consists of haematopoietic precursors and cells mediating natural killer (NK) activity and antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC). NK cells are a class of bon-adherent, non-phagocytic, rapidly cytotoxic lymphocytes which can efficiently lyse a wide variety of tumour cells¹, virally infected cells² and immature cell types of normal origin³. Despite the broad range of targets, only a limited number of specificities are thought to be involved in target-cell recognition^4–6. Morphologically, NK cells are large granular lymphocytes^7,8, but they have been shown to exhibit cell-surface markers characteristic of both T cells^9–11 and monocytes¹², raising doubt over their lineage. The recent cloning of the β-chain of the T-cell antigen receptor^13,14 has now allowed us to investigate whether some NK celle are T-cell-related. We have examined rearrangement and expression of the β-chain of the T-cell receptor in cloned murine NK cell lines and fresh murine NK cell populations, and our results support the hypothesis that a subpopulation of NK cells is related to T cells and provide a basis for examining whether some NK activity is mediated by a small number of T-cell receptors.