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Natural killer and lymphokine activated killer cell functions in Hodgkin's disease
N Rajaram1, R J Tatake, S H Advani
1Immunology Division, Cancer Research Institute, Parel, Bombay, India.
Insights
Natural killer (NK) and lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cell activity was assessed in Hodgkin's disease (HD) patients. While most HD patients had normal NK activity, decreased NK function correlated with poorer prognosis, but LAK activity remained effective.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Oncology
Background:
- Hodgkin's disease (HD) is a cancer of the lymphatic system.
- Natural killer (NK) and lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cells are crucial components of the immune system involved in cancer surveillance.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate NK and LAK cell activities in peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) of untreated Hodgkin's disease patients.
- To determine the frequency of LAK cell precursors in HD patients.
- To correlate NK and LAK cell activity with histopathological grade and clinical stage of HD.
Main Methods:
- Peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) were isolated from untreated Hodgkin's disease patients and healthy donors.
- Natural killer (NK) cell activity was measured.
- Lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cell activity was assessed against various tumor targets.
- Limiting dilution analysis (LDA) was used to determine the frequency of LAK cell precursors.
Main Results:
- Approximately 75% of HD patients exhibited normal NK activity.
- A higher proportion of patients with lymphocyte depletion grade and clinical stage IV showed reduced NK activity, suggesting a correlation with poor prognosis.
- Efficient LAK cell activity was observed in HD patients against both NK-sensitive and NK-resistant tumor cell lines, regardless of disease grade or stage.
- The frequency of LAK cell progenitors in HD patients was comparable to that of healthy donors.
Conclusions:
- While NK cell activity may be impaired in a subset of Hodgkin's disease patients, particularly those with advanced disease or specific histological subtypes, LAK cell activity remains largely preserved.
- The functional capacity of LAK cell precursors suggests that immunotherapy strategies targeting LAK cells could be beneficial in managing Hodgkin's disease.
Abstract:
We report the natural killer (NK) and lymphokine activated killer (LAK) cell activities in peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) from untreated patients with Hodgkin's disease (HD) and from healthy donors. The frequency of LAK cell precursors was also studied using limiting dilution analysis (LDA). About 75% of the HD patients had normal NK activity. There was a higher percentage of low NK responders (mean percent NK activity of healthy donors--2 SD) in patients with lymphocyte depletion histologic grade of the disease and those who were in clinical stage IV, suggesting a correlation of decrease in NK activity with poor prognosis. We found efficient LAK activity against the NK-sensitive K562 cells and NK-resistant VIP (melanoma) and T-24 (bladder carcinoma) tumour targets in both low and normal NK responder HD patients, irrespective of the histopathological grade and clinical stage of the disease. In concordance with their good LAK cell activity, HD patients showed a frequency distribution of LAK cell progenitors in the PBL comparable to that of healthy donors.