Inhibition of Natural Killer Cell Activity by Antigen‐Antibody Complexes

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Abstract
The natural killer (NK) cell activity of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells was found to be inhibited by precipitated tetanus toxoid anti‐tetanus toxoid complexes (Te/ aTe) as well as soluble Te/aTe, Preincubation of the immune complexes with protein A decreased the inhibition of NK cell activity. When mononuclear cells were preincubated with interferon (IF) or interleukin 2 (II‐2) before incubation with Te/aTe, the immune complex‐induced inhibition was decreased, while IF or II‐2 added after incubation with the immune complexes had no effect. Using NK cell‐enriched suspensions in a single cell agarose assay, the immune complexes were shown to inhibit NK cell activity by inhibiting the formation of effector/target cell conjugates.