Intestinal lymphokine-activated killer cells in inflammatory bowel disease.
The role of non-specific cytotoxicity in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) was investigated by assaying the natural killer (NK) and lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cell activity of lamina propria mononuclear cells (LPMC) from 22 specimens of intestinal mucosa affected by IBD. Only minimal levels of NK activity were detected against K562 cells, as well as colon carcinoma cells, adenoma cells and fibroblasts freshly isolated from the intestinal mucosa. Culture of LPMC from IBD in the presence of interleukin-2 (IL-2) generated LAK cells that mediated high levels of activity against K562 cells and against neoplastic epithelial cells and fibroblasts derived from the intestinal mucosa. A group of 20 histologically normal specimens of intestinal mucosa showed similar levels of LAK activity against the K562 and intestinal cell targets. The minimal mucosal NK activity in IBD suggests that the cytotoxic properties of NK cells are not important in the pathogenesis of IBD. The presence of LAK precursor cells in the inflamed mucosa of IBD and their ability to lyse biologically relevant targets in vitro suggests that LAK cells have the potential to contribute to intestinal mucosal injury in IBD.
Department of Medicine and Clinical Science, Australian National University, John Curtin School of Medicine Research, Woden Valley Hospital, Canberra.
P G
PG
Hogan
P R
PR
Gibson
A J
AJ
Hapel
W F
WF
Doe
D003093:Colitis, Ulcerative / Q000276:immunology*; D003424:Crohn Disease / Q000276:immunology*; D003602:Cytotoxicity, Immunologic / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007376:Interleukin-2 / Q000276:immunology; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D015979:Killer Cells, Lymphokine-Activated / Q000276:immunology*; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000276:immunology*; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
D007376:Interleukin-2