The Fc receptor on thymus-derived lymphocytes. III. Mixed lymphocyte reactivity and cell-mediated lympholytic activity of Fc- and Fc+ T lymphocytes.

The involvement of Fc- and Fc+ T cells, separated on the fluorescence-activated cell sorter, in proliferative and cytotoxic responses to alloantigens was examined. The cytotoxic lymphocytes generated by in vivo exposure to allogeneic tumor cells were shown to express the Fc receptor. The proliferative responses to alloantigen exposure in mixed lymphocyte cultures was equivalent in intensity for unseparated T cells, the Fc+ T-cell fraction, and the Fc- T-cell fraction isolated from nonsensitized spleen cells. In contrast, the cytotoxic responses generated by the Fc- T-cell fraction (less than 1% Fc+) were much weaker than the cytotoxic responses generated by the Fc+ T-cell fraction (80-90% Fc+), and the responses of the Fc+ T-cell fraction were generally weaker than, or equal to the responses of unseparated T cells (Fc- T less than Fc+ T less than or equal to unseparated T). Mixtures of the Fc- and Fc+ T-cell fractions mounted stronger cytotoxic responses than the sum of the responses of either fraction alone. Examination of the Ly phenotypes of the synergizing populations revealed that the CL precursor activity (Ly-2+ T cells) resided in the Fc- T-cell population, and that the amplifier T-cell activity (Ly-1+ T cells) resided in the Fc+ T-cell population. The data are discussed in terms of T-cell heterogeneity, differentiation, and intercellular interaction.