NORMAL NON-IMMUNE LYMPHOCYTE CYTOTOXICITY TO CULTURED LIVER CELLS PRETREATED WITH SERA OF PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC ACTIVE LIVER DISEASES

Abstract

Normal lymphocyte cytotoxicity to cultured liver cells pretreated with test sera was studied according to the method of Kawanishi (Gastroenterology, 73: 549, 1977). Target liver cells used were two established cell lines; one was Coon cells established by Dr. Coon, H.G. in 1968 from adult rat liver and the other was RLC 1005 established by Dr. Tsunematsu, Y. in 1978 from faetal rat liver. And rat faetal fibroblast primary culture was used as control target cells.
After preincubation of cultured liver cells with CALD (chronic active liver disease) sera, normal non-immune lymphocyte cytotoxicity against these cultured liver cells was significantly increased in comparison with control sera treatment. In an absence of the lymphocytes, sera tested alone did not showed cytotoxicity to the cultured liver cells. After treatment of rat fibroblasts with CALD sera, however, normal lymphocyte cytotoxicity to rat fibroblast was not increased in comparison with control sera treatment. Augmentation of normal lymphocyte cytotoxicity to CALD sera-treated liver cells was significantly blocked with aggregated IgG. And cytotoxicity was closely related to the presence of immunoglobulin capable of binding to target liver cell membranes in the CALD sera.
These results indicated that cellular machanism of the augmented cytotoxicity reaction of normal lymphocytes against CALD sera-treated hepatocytes might an ADC C (antibodydependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity) and it might play some roles in pathogenesis of CALD.