Accumulation and chemotaxis of natural killer/large granular lymphocytes at sites of virus replication

A model for monitoring the accumulation of natural killer cell/large granular lymphocytes (NK/LGL) at a site of virus replication was studied by using mice infected i.p. with either lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV), murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV), mouse hepatitis virus (MHV), Pichinde virus, or vaccinia virus. An i.p. but not i.v. infection resulted in a localized increase in NK/LGL cell number (a fourfold to greater than 20-fold increase) and augmentation (a 10- to 20-fold increase) of NK cell activity associated with virus-induced peritoneal exudate cell (PEC) populations. An increase in NK/LGL cell number was detected as early as 12 hr postinfection (p.i.) and peaked at 3 days p.i. with MHV. The initial LGL recruited into the peritoneal cavity at 1 to 3 days p.i. were nonadherent to plastic and were demonstrated to have an NK cell phenotype: asialo GM1+, Thy-1.2 +/-, Lyt-2.2-, and J11d-. The peak number of LGL appeared at 7 days after infection with the NK cell-resistant virus, LCMV. This LGL population had been previously demonstrated to contain cytotoxic T lymphocyte/LGL (CTL/LGL) as well as NK/LGL. During an MHV infection the number of LGL decreased between days 3 and 7 p.i., suggesting that the second wave of CTL/LGL was absent. These findings may explain the absence of a good MHV-CTL model. Virus-induced, activated NK/LGL responded to chemotactic signals by migrating in a unidirectional manner across two 5-microns pore size polycarbonate filters during 7 hr in vitro chemotaxis assays. Wash-out fluid obtained from the peritoneal cavity contained chemotactic activity for NK/LGL as well as for other cell types. We conclude that production and/or release of chemotactic factors at sites of virus replication are at least partially responsible for the accumulation of NK/LGL at these sites.