Sequential changes in NK and ADCC effector cell function after organ transplantation in man.

Antibody-dependent cellular (K cell) cytotoxicity (ADCC) and cellular cytotoxicity against natural killer (NK) targets exerted by the same cells were both measured sequentially in ten patients after renal transplantation using conventional immunosuppression. Cytotoxicity against NK targets appeared to correlate more closely with rejection episodes than did assays of ADCC activity during the same period. An apparent rise in NK activity was frequently accompanied by a fall in ADCC activity. Collectively these data suggest that the previously reported increase in NK activity during rejection episodes may represent a manifestation of the appearance of non-clonally activated T-cells in peripheral blood during rejection.