Mechanisms of lectin and antibody-dependent polymorphonuclear leukocyte-mediated cytolysis.

The mechanisms of tumor lysis by polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) were investigated. In antibody-dependent PMN-mediated cytolysis (ADPC), sensitized tumor cells were specifically lysed via Fc receptors on PMNs. On the other hand, lectin-dependent PMN-mediated cytolysis (LDPC) caused nonspecific lysis of several murine tumors after recognition of carbohydrate moieties on the cell membrane of both PMNs and tumor cells. Both ADPC and LDPC depended on glycolysis, and cytotoxicity was mediated by reactive oxygen species; LDPC was dependent on superoxide and ADPC on the myeloperoxidase system. The participation of reactive oxygen species in PMN cytotoxicity was also demonstrated by pharmacological triggering with phorbol myristate acetate. These results indicate that reactive oxygen species have an important role In tumor killing by PMNs and that ADPC and LDPC have partly different cytolytic processes as well as different recognition steps.