ISSN:
1365-3083
Source:
Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005
Topics:
Medicine
Notes:
Human peripheral blood large granular lymphocytes (LGL)—that is, cells with intracytoplasmic azurophilic (electron-dense) granules, with a positiviiy for the cytochemical localization of certain acid hydrolascs, and with avid surface receptors for the Fc portion of IgG—have been purified on Percoll density gradients. Approximately 30% of these cells expressed receptors for the third complement component (C3R). They were separated into C3R-positive and C3R-negative cells. C3R− cells had a significantly greater natural killer (NK) activity against K562 target cells than C3R+ cells. This difference was unrelated to the presence in the C3R+ cells of a contaminant cell type incapable of NK activity, since cytochcmical and ultrastructural analysis revealed that C3R+ and CR− fractions contained comparable LGL numbers. Agarose cytotoxicity assays at the single-cell level demonstrated that C3R + LGL contained a large number of cells that bound to but did not lyse the target. The remaining fully cytotoxic C3R+ LGL had, however, the same killing and recycling properties as the cells from the OR fraction. Electron microscopy and cytochcmical studies showed that C3R+cells had fewer electron-dense granules than C3R cells and stained more faintly for the localization of α-naphtyl acetate eslerase. In contrast to C3R cells. C3R+ LGL displayed morphological features suggesting that an active process of granule formation was taking place. Taken together, the data indicate that C3R+ cells represent a discrete subset or a maturationsl stage of LGL.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-3083.1983.tb01806.x
