Effect of mycoplasmas on natural cytotoxic activity and release of tumor necrosis factor alpha by spleen cells.
It has been reported that mycoplasma-infected cells are more sensitive to lysis by natural cytotoxic (NC) effector cells and that splenic NC cells release tumor necrosis factor (TNF-alpha) when they lyse sensitive target cells. Here we showed that spleen cells released TNF-alpha when they were incubated with NC-sensitive cells that were infected with mycoplasmas or when they were incubated with mycoplasmas alone, but did not release TNF-alpha when incubated with NC-sensitive cells that were not infected with mycoplasmas. Thus, in the presence of mycoplasmas, spleen cell cultures contain both NC effector cells and free TNF-alpha. Because NC-sensitive cells are also sensitive to free TNF-alpha, when mycoplasma-infected cells were incubated with spleen cells, they were lysed by the combination of NC cells and free TNF-alpha. When NC-sensitive cells that were not infected with mycoplasmas were incubated with spleen cells, they were lysed only by NC effector cells and thus appeared to be less sensitive than mycoplasma-infected cells. These results also suggested that the release of TNF-alpha may be part of a host protective response to mycoplasmas.
Lin
Y
Y
Developmental Biology Laboratory, Salk Institute, San Diego, California 92138-9216.
Collins
J L
JL
Case
P G
PG
Patek
P Q
PQ
D000818:Animals; D000937:Antigen-Antibody Reactions; D002460:Cell Line; D003602:Cytotoxicity, Immunologic; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000502:physiology*; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D009175:Mycoplasma Infections / Q000503:physiopathology*; D013154:Spleen / Q000166:cytology; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000378:metabolism*
D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha