ETHANOL AND NATURAL-KILLER-CELLS .1. ACTIVITY AND IMMUNOPHENOTYPE IN ALCOHOLIC HUMANS

The human lymphocyte fraction with the greatest fresh killing activity against K562 targets is phenotypically the CD3(-)CD19(-)CD56(+) subse t. There have been reports of reduced natural killer (NK) activity in human alcoholics, but overall consistency is lacking and phenotypic mo nitoring has been inadequate to allow reliable estimates of changes in the active cell fractions. We have evaluated a range of cell surface markers and fresh NK activity in controls and alcoholics, and now repo rt abnormalities in both phenotype and function in some alcoholics, bu t a normal profile in others. Patients without evidence of active live r disease (AWLDs) tend to have normal fresh basal activities and pheno typic profiles. Patients with alcoholic liver disease (ALDs) have fewe r Lin(-) lymphocytes that are CD56(+). Three of 14 ALDs assayed in the present work had absent NK activity, whereas others were activated. I n normal controls and in AWLDs, the presence of monocytes in the lytic assay consistently inhibits lysis; but, in some patients with ALD, th e presence of monocytes is stimulatory to NK activity. In alcoholics a s one group, there is a statistically significant relative increase in a novel Lin(-) subset of unknown function; this subset has a phenotyp e of Lin(-)CD56(-)CD45RO(+).