LECTIN-BINDING CHARACTERISTICS OF HUMAN NATURAL-KILLER CELLS

  • 1 January 1982
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 46  (3) , 619-627
Abstract
Human natural killer (NK) cells separated initially by density centrifugation of lymphocytes (E+) forming rosettes with sheep red blood cells (SRBC), were further fractionated on gradients of bovine serum albumin (BSA). Low density fractions contained effector cells which displayed high cytotoxicity against the NK-sensitive erythroleukemic cell line, K562. These low density cells, which expressed receptors for Fc and the monoclonal antibody OKM1, showed enhanced cytotoxicity when treated with lymphoblastoid interferon (IFN-.alpha.). They also showed an increased response to phytomitogen in comparison with unseparated cells or those recovered from high density fractions. Two lymphocyte subsets 1 of high and 1 of low lectin binding capacity were identified in the E+ populations by their reactivity with Lens culinaris agglutinin (LCA). High LCA binding was observed only in low density fractions and was associated with a marked enrichment of NK activity. This property was used to separate the NK active population in E+ cells by fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS). These data add a new dimension to the cell surface properties of human NK cells and suggest the presence of LCA-reactive glycoproteins which are either enriched in, or uniquely associated with, cells of the NK subset. Lectins evidently can serve as useful probes of lymphocyte function and provide the basis for effective cell sorting.