Lymphokine-activated killer cells in mouse bone marrow chimaeras. The relationship to natural killer cells and to alloreactive cytotoxic T cells.

Spleen cells from mouse bone marrow chimaeras were cultured in vitro in mixed lymphocyte cultures (MLC) or in the presence of interleukin 2 (IL-2) without the added alloantigen. Precursors for the nonspecific cytotoxic cells (in this study: lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cells) lysing natural killer (NK) cell-sensitive YAC-1 lymphoma could be found 10-12 days after the bone marrow reconstitution, simultaneously with the appearance of the NK activity. The ability of LAK cells to lyse NK-resistant tumour targets as well was demonstrated using the P 815 mastocytoma cell line; reactivity against this target was demonstrable 1 week later than the appearance on YAC-1 lysing cells. Phenotypically LAK cells derived from spleen cell cultures of bone marrow chimaeras did not differ from LAK cells derived from normal spleen cell cultures: precursors resided within the Thy 1-, asialo-GM1+ cell population, and effectors expressed both of these antigens. Splenic NK cells of early bone marrow chimaeras (up to 14-18 days after the bone marrow reconstitution) were Thy 1+ cells, and thus LAK cells of bone marrow chimaeras were not derived from these Thy 1+ NK cells. The treatment of effector cells with anti-Thy 1 antibody plus complement (C) abolished the lytic activity totally. However, these cells were not cytotoxic T cells, since alloreactivity, as an indication of the T-cell cytotoxicity, could not be demonstrated until 4-5 weeks after the bone marrow reconstitution.