Macrophage and lymphocyte antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity in spontaneous leukemogenesis of AKR/J mice

Abstract

Antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) mediated by peritoneal macrophages and splenic lymphocytes was studied in young (15 weeks) and old (45 +/- 5 weeks) preleukemic AKR/J mice and leukemic (55 +/- 5 weeks) AKR/J mice. This strain spontaneously develops a virally induced T cell leukemia-lymphoma between the ages of 32 and 48 weeks. The peritoneal macrophages from the AKR/J leukemic and old preleukemic mice showed an impaired ADCC when compared with their respective age and tumor-free BALB/c controls and with young preleukemic AKR/J mice. Young and old preleukemic AKR/J mice and their respective controls had similar ADCC values with respect to splenic lymphocytes, whereas an impaired ADCC was observed by the splenic cells from leukemic AKR/J mice. The possibility of using ADCC mediated by macrophages as a test to detect the onset of the leukemic process is discussed.