Phenotypic and Functional Analysis of Cellular Cytotoxicity after Splenectomy

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Abstract
Phenotypic and functional aspects of cellular cytotoxicity were investigated in patients after splenectomy. While assays testing for natural killer cell (NK) activity and antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity showed a significantly reduced (p < 0.005 and p < 0.025, respectively) activity of the relevant cell populations, lectin-dependent cellular cytotoxicity was either normal or, in one dilution of phytohemagglutinin, even significantly increased (p < 0.025), as compared to healthy control persons. In a search for a possible explanation for this phenomenon, it was found that the total lymphocyte count was significantly increased (p < 0.01) in patients after splenectomy, when compared with healthy control individuals. However, neither the absolute cell count nor the percentage of Leu7+ lymphocytes showed significant differences between splenectomized patients and controls. In contrast, the percentages of (Leu7 + Leu2) + , OKT11 + , OKT4+ and Leu2a+ lymphocytes were significantly decreased (p < 0.0025, p < 0.01 and p < 0.005, respectively) in splenectomized patients with not only the percentage, but also the absolute number of DR+ lymphocytes being significantly increased (p < 0.005 and p < 0.05, respectively). We thus conclude that in patients after splenectomy NK activity is decreased which may possibly be due to the lack of a NK subset. In contrast, the overall percentages of T cells (OKT11+), T helper/inducer (OKT4+) and T suppressor cells (Leu2a+) were significantly decreased in patients after splenectomy, although this defect could be compensated by a significant increase in the absolute lymphocyte number.

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