Target-effector cell interaction in the natural killer cell system. V. Energy requirements, membrane integrity, and the possible involvement of lysosomal enzymes

Various inhibitors were used to study further the mechanism of natural killing and to compare it to lympholysis by cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL). The respiratory inhibitors DNP and NaN ₃ or low temperatures (0°) blocked the cell contact phase of target-effector interaction in the CTL system but not the NK system. The lytic stage was also inhibited by the glycolytic inhibitors, iodoacetate and NaF, in the NK system as previously shown in the CTL system. Dimethylsulphoxide, a dipolar solvent, and cytochalasin B, a microtubule disruptor, inhibited NK target binding. Pre-treatment of NK cells with glutaraldehyde, a protein cross-linking agent, completely prevented lysis, but not the formation of target-effector conjugates. The lytic phase of NK lysis was inhibited by chloroquine which also inhibited lysosomal enzyme function. Lysosome defective, beige mutant mice were also totally deficient in the NK lytic function and this defect could not be restored with cGMP. T-cell and macrophage mediated cytolysis was previously shown to be relatively normal in beige mice. These results suggest that (i) the mechanism of NK cytolysis is a complex, multistep process, and (ii) this process is fundamentally different from that occurring in CTL. A 'stimulus-secretion' model of NK cytolysis is presented in which it is postulated that lysosomal enzymes may be the lytic molecules.