Quantification of natural cytotoxicity by human lymphocyte subpopulations isolated by density: heterogeneity of the effector cells.

Natural cell mediated cytotoxicity has been expressed as percent cytotoxicity, as the slope of the titration curve obtained by testing different effector: target cell ratios, and as lytic units. Objections can be raised to each method as used. The present report involves the study of cytotoxicity by subpopulations of lymphocytes obtained by Percoll density gradient centrifugation. The subpopulations vary greatly in cytotoxic activity, making accurate comparisons by traditional means difficult. A method was therefore developed for making objective comparisons between activities of subpopulations of lymphocytes. Cytotoxicity titration curves, which were sigmoidal on linear-linear plots, were found to best fit the sigmoidal curves described by the Von Krogh equation. A best fitting scale family of curves having the identical maximum cytotoxicity and shape parameter was fitted simultaneously to cytotoxicity measurements obtained by titrating all subpopulations of effector cells obtained from each patient. Values expressing relative cytotoxicities were obtained from the ratios of the scale parameters of the different curves or by obtaining lytic units from the fitted curves. In addition to the enriched natural cytotoxic activity found among the lighter cells obtained by Percoll density gradient centrifugation, activity was also increased among cells sedimenting at the very bottom of the gradient. This was found in subpopulations of cells obtained from 16/21 gradients in tests against K562 and in subpopulations obtained from both of 2 gradients in tests against Daudi cells. These findings are consistent with the existence of at least 2 subpopulations of lymphocytes which can mediate natural cytotoxicity, and which are separable by density.