Generation of natural killer cells from both Fc gamma RII/III+ and Fc gamma RII/III- murine fetal liver progenitors.

In vitro culture of day-15.5 murine fetal liver (FL) cells in the presence of recombinant interleukin-2 (IL-2) results in the expansion of Fc gamma RII/III+ CD3-Ti-NK1.1+ cells displaying both natural killer (NK) and antibody-dependent cell cytotoxicity (ADCC) cytolytic activities. These FL-derived NK cells express Fc gamma RIII (CD16) in association with an Fc epsilon RI gamma homodimer on their surface. In contrast, in vitro expansion of FL cells in the absence of IL-2 generates noncytotoxic cells belonging to the myelomonocytic lineage (Mac1+Gr1+NK1.1-). Hence, IL-2 appears to be critical for the proliferation and differentiation of NK cells from FL progenitors. Experiments in which FL cells were fractionated by density gradient centrifugation before in vitro expansion showed that NK progenitors are contained within a cell population with a density of 1.04 < d < 1.08 g/mL. Cells with d > 1.08 g/mL (representing > or = 40% of FL cells) have no such NK progenitor activity. In addition, after intrathymic injection into Ly5 congenic host animals, day-15.5 CD4-CD8- FL cells mature into CD4+CD8+ thymocytes within 12 days. Interestingly, this T-cell progenitor activity is restricted to subpopulations of FL cells that also contain NK progenitors, but is absent in high-density (d > 1.08 g/mL) FL cells. Finally, fractionation of FL cells according to surface expression of Fc gamma RII/III complexes shows that NK (and T-lymphocyte) progenitors are found in both Fc gamma RII/III+ and Fc gamma RII/III-FL subpopulations.