Phenotypic Analysis of Lymphocytes Involved in Major Histocompatibility Complex Unrestricted Cellular Cytotoxicity in Patients with Alcoholic Cirrhosis

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Abstract
Lymphocyte subpopulations known to exert major histocompatibility complex (MHC) unrestricted cytotoxicity were enumerated in 33 patients with alcoholic cirrhosis and in 10 patients with alcohol-induced fatty changes of the liver. Absolute numbers and percentages of lymphocytes bearing the CD57 (median 12 vs. 20%; p = 0.007) and CD16 (median 12 vs. 19%; p = 0.0027) antigens were significantly reduced in cirrhotic patients as compared to healthy control individuals, whereas no significant change in CD56+ cells (median 13 vs. 13%; n.s.), comprising a subpopulation with a high natural killer activity in normal individuals, was observed. A subset of these cells, cytotoxic T cells coexpressing CD56 and CD3 antigens and capable of MHC-unrestricted cellular cytotoxicity, was significantly increased in patients with alcoholic cirrhosis as compared to healthy control individuals (median 2 vs. 1 %; p = 0.024). Patients with alcohol-induced fatty changes of the liver did not show any deviation of lymphocyte subpopulation from normal. The finding that lymphocyte subsets capable to exert most of the MHC-unrestricted cytotoxic capacity in peripheral blood (CD56+ non-T-cells and CD3 + CD56+ T cells) were unchanged or even increased in number suggests that the reduced natural killer cell activity known to occur in patients with alcoholic liver cirrhosis might be due to a functional defect of these cells. Furthermore, our results indicate that changes in frequency of MHC-unrestricted cytotoxic cells are not found in a similar manner in all subsets of these cells, but are dependent on the particular cell surface marker investigated.

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