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Oxygen intermediates are triggered early in the cytolytic pathway of human NK cells

Nature volume 298, pages 569–572 (1982)Cite this article

Abstract

The mechanism of tumour cell destruction by natural killer (NK) cells or other lymphocytes is not understood. NK cells appear to represent a primitive anti-tumour surveillance system more analogous to macrophages than lymphocytes1. Free oxygen radicals (O−2, OH) and H2O2 are thought to be involved in cell destruction by macrophages2 and therefore we looked for similar cytocidal intermediates of oxygen in NK cells. These highly reactive molecular species can easily be detected in the presence of luminol by the emission of light3. We show here that highly enriched human NK cells respond to NK-sensitive but not NK-insensitive tumour cells with a rapid burst of oxygen metabolites as detected both by chemiluminescence and cytochrome c reduction. Agents which can prevent chemiluminescence and cytochrome c reduction, such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), reduced NK-mediated cytolysis and agents which increased chemiluminescence, such as interferon, also increased NK-mediated cytolysis. These results suggest that the production of oxygen species may be the earliest event to occur in the NK cell following tumour cell contact, and these products are involved in NK-mediated cytolysis.

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Author notes

  1. Stephen L. Helfand: Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts 03128, USA

  2. Axel Duwe: Department of Medical Microbiology, University of Toronto, Banting Institute, 100 College Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5G 1L5

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada, K7L 3N6

    John C. Roder, Stephen L. Helfand, Jerome Werkmeister, Ronald McGarry, Timothy J. Beaumont & Axel Duwe

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  1. John C. Roder
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  2. Stephen L. Helfand
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  4. Ronald McGarry
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  5. Timothy J. Beaumont
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  6. Axel Duwe
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Roder, J., Helfand, S., Werkmeister, J. et al. Oxygen intermediates are triggered early in the cytolytic pathway of human NK cells. Nature 298, 569–572 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1038/298569a0

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