LYMPHOKINE-ACTIVATED KILLER (LAK) CELL ANTI-HIV-1 ADCC REACTIVITY - APOTENTIAL STRATEGY FOR REDUCTION OF VIRUS-INFECTED CELLULAR RESERVOIRS

Lymphocytes from HIV-l-seropositive and -sero-negative individuals wer e examined to determine whether HIV-1 infection interfered with the ab ility to generate a lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cell response. F ollowing a 3-day ex vivo incubation in the presence of 1000 U/ml of re combinant interleukin-a, lymphocytes from seropositive individuals exh ibited a LAK cell response which was equivalent to or greater than tha t of seronegative controls as measured against Daudi cell targets. LAM cells from seropositive and seronegative donors showed no specific cy tolytic activity against gp120-coated or HIV-1-infected targets. Howev er, in the presence of patient sera, significant levels of virus-speci fic LAK cell-mediated antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) were observed. The level of this specific LAK cell-mediated ADCC was g reater than that mediated under similar conditions by freshly isolated peripheral blood mononuclear cells. The greatest improvement in ADCC over baseline activity was seen with lymphocytes from AIDS patients af ter the 3-day ex vivo activation, suggesting that this patient populat ion might benefit the most from adaptive LAK cell therapy. (C) 1998 Ac ademic Press.