Lysis of FLD-3 Friend erythroleukemia cells in vitro and in vivo: effect of 89Sr treatment and Friend virus infection.

The effector cells from non-immunized mice capable of lysing 51Cr-labelled FLD-3 BALB/c Friend virus-induced erythroleukemia cells in vitro and cells capable of clearing FLD-3 cells labelled with 5-iodo-2'-deoxyuridine-125I (125IdUrd) from the lungs in vivo were characterized and compared with natural killer (NK) cells reactive against YAC-I lymphoma cells. Unlike NK cells, the cells capable of lysing FLD-3 cells in vitro were insensitive to antibodies directed against NK-2.1 or Thy-1.2 antigens (plus complement) and to pretreatment of mice in vivo with silica particles, 89Sr or estradiol. Heat-killed C. parvum organism stimulated anti-FLD-3 effector cells without changing the slow rate (24 h) of lysis in vitro. The ability to clear FLD-3 and YAC-1 cells from the lung was normal and defective, respectively, in C57BL/6-bg/bg(beige) mice and in mice pretreated with 89Sr or estradiol. We conclude that natural cytotoxic (NC) cells lyse FLD-3 cells, Fv-2, which regulates resistance to leukemia induction by Friend virus, does not regulate NC(FLD-3) activity, and the virus does not affect NC(FLD-3) activity during the first several days of infection of normal genetically susceptible mice. However, infection of 89Sr-treated mice inhibits NC(FLD-3) function owing to the activation of suppressor cells. These data suggest (but do not prove) that effector cells similar or identical to NC(FLD-3) cells may function in vivo to resist the proliferation/survival of certain leukemia cells.