Antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity in humans. II. Energy requirement.

Antibody-dependent cytotoxicity mediated by human peripheral lymphocytes is an active energy-requiring phenomenon. In this study the relative importance of glycolysis and respiration was analyzed, by measuring the effect of various metabolic inhibitors (sodium azide, antimycin A, 2-deoxy-D-glucose, iodoacetate), alone or in combination, on effector cell efficiency and intracellular ATP level. The inhibition of both aerobic and anaerobic energy production in the effector cells completely abolished cytotoxicity. An inhibition of 50% was observed when the intracellular ATP concentration was decreased to levels corresponding to 30 to 50% of those in the untreated controls.