Antibody-dependent and spontaneous cell-mediated cytotoxicity in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) and spontaneous lymphocyte-mediated cytotoxicity (SLMC) of the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of 12 children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in an active clinical stage and of 15 ALL patients in bone marrow remission were studied on allogeneic and xenogeneic targets. Leukemic children with clinically active disease had low SLMC and ADCC activity while the PBMC of patients in remission exerted normal cytotoxicity as compared to the corresponding mean values of an age and sex matched healthy control group.