Transient killer cells mediating antibody-dependent cell cytotoxicity to chicken erythrocytes in mouse spleen during...

Anti CRBC-ADCC increased in spleens of C3H/He mice from 2 weeks after birth to a peak value at 7-9 weeks of age and then declined to at least 17 weeks. Spleen cells from 8 week-old mice were fractionated by Percoll discontinuous density gradients and Sephadex G-10 columns. At least two cell fractions mediating ADCC to CRBC targets have been identified. Percoll gradient separation revealed one cell fraction with monocyte and another with lymphocyte morphology. The spleen cells adherent to Sephadex G-10 columns were responsible for most ADCC and this fraction accounted for the majority of killer cells at 8 weeks of age. These adherent cells were responsible for most superoxide anion production when stimulated with opsonised zymosan. The ontogenetic pattern of Sephadex-adherent killer cells closely resembles that for natural killer (NK) cells. This is discussed with regard to the probable influx of monocyte-like cells in the spleen during the postnatal development of mice.