Natural Cell-Mediated Immunity

This chapter summarizes the known information on the expression of natural cytotoxicity in rodents and in man, its specificity, the nature of the effector cells and their relationship to other immune mechanisms, and the possible in vivo relevance ofnatural cytotoxic relevance, particularly in regard to resistance against tumor growth.

Abstract

The recognition of the existence of natural cell-mediated immunity, particularly natural cell-mediated cytotoxicity, has significantly altered the concepts concerning the potential mechanisms for in vivo resistance against tumor growth and for in vitro cell-mediated immune reactions. When cytotoxic reactions are measured, the evaluation of the role of natural killer (NK) cells and other more well-known mechanisms of cytotoxicity must be done carefully. This chapter focuses on natural cell-mediated cytotoxicity. It summarizes the known information on the expression of natural cytotoxicity in rodents and in man, its specificity, the nature of the effector cells and their relationship to other immune mechanisms, and the possible in vivo relevance of natural cytotoxicity, particularly in regard to resistance against tumor growth. The basic observation that initiated the studies of natural cell mediated cytotoxicity includes that lymphoid cells from some normal mice, rats, and human donors, which are not inoculated with tumor cells or other sources of antigen, exhibit significant levels of cytotoxic reactivity against certain syngeneic or allogeneic tumor cells.