Antibody-Dependent Cellular Cytotoxicity in Primary Immunodeficiency Diseases and with Normal Leukocyte Subpopulations

Abstract

To gain insight into a possible role for antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity in vivo, we examined the ability of leukocytes from 28 patients with primary immunodeficiency and from 20 normal controls to lyse three different types of antibody-coated targets in vitro. Mean cytotoxic indices ±1 SD elicited by unfractionated mononuclear cells from normal controls were 28.74±13.26 for human HLA antibody-coated lymphocyte targets, 42.79±8.27 for rabbit IgG antibody-coated chicken erythrocyte targets, and 47.58±10.34 for human anti-CD (Ripley)-coated O+ erythrocyte targets. Significantly (P=P=2 depletion studies with normal leukocytes indicated that a nonadherent, nonphagocytic, non-Ig-bearing, non-C receptor-bearing, Fc receptor-bearing lymphocyte was the only effector capable of lysing HLA antiboyd-coated lymphocyte targets. Patients with infantile X-linked agammaglobulinemia and severe combined immunodeficiency appear to have a marked deficiency in this type of effector cell function.