Figure 6.
Secretion of immunoregulatory factors by activated NK-92/5.28.z cells. The supernatants of cocultures of RH30 (A) and RH41 (B) cells with NK-92/5.28.z and NK-92 cells at E:T ratios of 20:1 (absolute cell count per well: 1 × 105 effector cells and 5 × 103 target cells) were assessed for effector molecules and immunoregulatory factors. Mean concentrations are shown ± SD. The lytic molecules granzyme A and B, perforin and granulysin (orange bars), interleukin (IL)-17A (blue bars), interferon (IFN)-γ, and Fas ligand (FasL) (red bars) were detectable at increased concentrations in NK-92/5.28.z compared with NK-92 cocultures. Cocultures with NK-92 cells showed higher levels of FasL (red bars) and IL-10 (purple bars) than cocultures with NK-92/5.28.z cells. Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, IL-2, IL-4, and IL-6 were not secreted at considerable levels. To assess their degranulation capacity, NK-92 (C,D) or NK-92/5.28.z cells (E,F) were coincubated with RH30 cells (D,F) or remained without target cells (C,E). Cells stained with CD107a and CD56 antibodies represented degranulating immune effector cells. Differences were considered significant for p < 0.05 (*), p < 0.01 (**), p < 0.005 (***), or not significant (ns).