title: Morphologic observations of contact-induced lysis of EBV-infected B lymphocytes by autologous hand mirror T cells.
abstract: To study the possible immunologic role of hand mirror lymphocytes (HML) in the control of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-infected B lymphocytes in patients with infectious mononucleosis (IM), we studied the in vitro interactions of these cells by time-lapse video light microscopy. Peripheral blood T lymphocytes isolated from three patients in the early recovery phase of IM were mixed with their autologous EBV-infected B cells. Motile lymphocytes with their characteristic hand mirror shape were observed to attach by their uropods to the B cells. The HML remained attached for variable periods ranging from 45-75 min. Following detachment, B cells that were in contact with HML underwent lysis. Mixtures of T cells from healthy donors and EBV-infected cell lines exhibited only rare uropod formation with no attachment or lysis of B cells. The present experiment indicates that contact-induced lysis of EBV-infected B lymphocytes is operative in IM and that this process is mediated by the HML.
mesh_terms: D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology*; D002450:Cell Communication; D003602:Cytotoxicity, Immunologic; D004854:Herpesvirus 4, Human / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007244:Infectious Mononucleosis / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000276:immunology; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology*; D013997:Time Factors