Journal of Dental Research, Vol 66, 770-773, Copyright © 1987 by International & American Associations for Dental Research Online Journals
HSV-1-infected oral epithelial cells are targets for natural killer cells
R. A. Lindemann, S. H. Golub and N. H. Park
A mechanism of cell-mediated immunity was investigated to determine whether
natural killer (NK) cells were able to lyse antigenically-altered
epithelial cell targets. Using standard four-hour chromium-release assays,
we tested human peripheral blood lymphocytes against autologous untreated
epithelial cells and autologous HSV-1-infected epithelial cells and
calculated the percentage of lysis. With adherent cell-depleted peripheral
blood, only epithelial cells infected with virus were lysed (p = 0.009).
Evidence that NK cells were responsible for the lysis exists because: (1)
peripheral blood lymphocytes were able to lyse allogeneic as well as
autologous virus-infected cells; (2) when NK cells were depleted with the
lysosomotropic drug L-leucine methyl ester, cytotoxicity against infected
targets was abrogated; and (3) depletion of NK cells by the monoclonal
antibody Leu-11b, plus complement, also eliminated cytotoxicity against
virus-infected targets. Additional evidence suggests that lysis of targets
does not involve antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity. These findings
indicate that NK cells have the potential to perform a similar in vivo
immunologic role in the oral cavity and initiate cell-mediated lysis of
virus-infected epithelial cells.
