Suppression of natural killer cell activity by granulocytes in patients with aplastic anemia: role of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor.

Patients with aplastic anemia were tested for natural killer (NK) activity, and the roles of granulocytes and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) in the regulation of cytotoxicity were evaluated. Blood lymphocytes showed low or no NK activity against K562 targets. The depression of NK activity was more frequently recorded for patients who were not in remission and those who received G-CSF administration. Granulocytes of aplastic anemia patients with impaired NK activity suppressed the lytic activity of NK cells. By contrast, granulocytes from normal controls and aplastic anemia patients with normal NK activity had no suppressive activity. There was a good correlation between NK activity of lymphocytes and suppressive activity of granulocytes. Blocking of direct contact of suppressor and effector cells by cell chambers abolished suppression of cytotoxicity. NK suppression by granulocytes was resistant to treatment with catalase or superoxide dismutase. In vitro stimulation with G-CSF of granulocytes that naturally had no suppressive activity resulted in development of suppressive function, whereas granulocytes with natural suppressive activity were not further stimulated in vitro by G-CSF to express augmented activity. These results suggest that the presence of suppressor granulocytes in the blood could be one cause of the impaired NK activity in patients with aplastic anemia.