Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 24, 2026
Measurement of Natural Killer Cell-Mediated Cytotoxicity and Migration in the Context of Hepatic Tumor Cells
Published on: February 22, 2020
[Morphological observation on NK/LAK cell-mediated lysis of human oral carcinoma cells]
Ying-juan Zheng1, Jian Zhang, Sen-ming Wang
1Center of Oncology, Zhujiang Hospital, First Military Medical Universility, Guangzhou 510282, China. titan@fimmu.com
Objective:
To understand the relation between cytotoxic activity of immunologic effector cells and multidrug resistance of the tumor cells.
Methods:
Continuous observation of the morphological changes and MTT colorimetry were employed to evaluate the cytotoxic activity of lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cells and natural killer (NK) cells against multidrug-resistant (MDR) human oral carcinoma cell line-KBV200 (before and after reversal of MDR) and parental drug-sensitive cell line KB. The morphologic changes of LAK cells and the 3 target cell lines were observed continuously under inverted microscope 3 h after co-culture of LAK cells with one of three target cell lines respectively. The lysis rates of three tumor cell lines in response to co-culture with LAK or NK cells were determined using MTT colorimetry.
Results:
In comparison with the parental drug-sensitive cell line KB, both KBV200 and its reserved cell line by verapamil (KBVV) showed earlier adherence and greater number of cells lysed by LAK. In MTT colorimetry assay, the cytotoxicity of both LAK and NK cells against the 3 cell lines was associated with the effector-to-target (E/T) cell ratio; the lysis rates of KBV200 and reversed KBV200 cells by verapamil in response to LAK and NK cells were higher than that of KB cells (P<0.05), but KBV200 and KBVV did not significantly differ (P>0.05). At the same E/T ratio, LAK cells possessed stronger cytotoxicity than NK cells against all the tumor cell lines (P<0.05).
Conclusions:
Immunologic effector cells possess strong cytotoxic activity against multidrug-resistant cell line KBV200. Modulation of MDR does not decrease the cytotoxic activity of the immunologic effector cells. The results of this study suggest that adoptive cell immunotherapy with immunologic effector cells may be of value in controlling the progress of MDR tumors.
Insights
Immunologic effector cells, including lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) and natural killer (NK) cells, show potent cytotoxic activity against multidrug-resistant (MDR) oral carcinoma cells. Adoptive cell immunotherapy may offer a promising strategy for managing MDR tumors.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Cancer Biology
- Cell Biology
Context:
- Multidrug resistance (MDR) in cancer poses a significant challenge to effective treatment.
- Understanding the interaction between immune effector cells and MDR tumor cells is crucial for developing novel therapies.
Purpose:
- To investigate the relationship between the cytotoxic activity of immunologic effector cells (LAK and NK cells) and multidrug resistance in tumor cells.
- To evaluate the efficacy of LAK and NK cells against a multidrug-resistant human oral carcinoma cell line (KBV200) and its drug-sensitive counterpart (KB).
Summary:
- This study utilized morphological observation and MTT colorimetry to assess the cytotoxic effects of LAK and NK cells on KBV200 and KB cell lines.
- Results indicated that both LAK and NK cells exhibited significant cytotoxicity against MDR cells, with LAK cells demonstrating stronger activity.
- Crucially, the modulation of MDR did not diminish the cytotoxic capacity of these immunologic effector cells.
Impact:
- The findings suggest that immunologic effector cells retain potent cytotoxic activity even against multidrug-resistant cancer cells.
- This research supports the potential of adoptive cell immunotherapy as a viable approach for controlling the progression of multidrug-resistant tumors.
