Renal allograft rejection. Possible involvement of antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity

We have demonstrated that serum from appropriately sensitized patients can contain IgG antibodies that bind to cultured renal epithelial cells. The presence of such antibodies on the surface of renal cells enables otherwise nonlytic PBMC to lyse these renal cells by an antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) mechanism. Experiments involving cell-sorting and specific complement-mediated lysis showed that the ADCC effector cells were of the CD3 -ve, C16 +ve phenotype characteristic of NK cells. In this report it is argued that an ADCC mechanism may be of importance in mediating chronic renal cell damage in the absence of acute allograft rejection.