ROLE OF NATURAL-KILLER-CELLS IN THE GENERATION OF INFLUENZA VIRUS-SPECIFIC CYTOTOXIC T-CELLS

Recently we reported that natural killer (NK) cells are critical acces sory cells required for the differentiation of alloantigen-stimulated CD8(+) T cells into effector cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) in vitro. I n this study we provide evidence that NK cells are also required for t he generation of influenza virus-specific CTL. Depletion of NK cells f rom responder human peripheral blood mononuclear cells or mouse spleno cytes abolished the induction of influenza A virus-specific CTL under culture conditions, Treatment of C57BL/6 mice with the NK cell-depleti ng NK1.1 monoclonal antibody (mAb) before primary or secondary immuniz ation with influenza A virus abrogated the capacity of CTL precursors to differentiate into influenza virus-specific CTL effectors in vivo. These results extend our previous findings and demonstrate that NK cel ls critically influence the induction of antigen-specific CTL, both in vitro and in vivo. (C) 1996 Academic Press, Inc.