Alloreactive lymphokine-activated killer cells from athymic nude rats do not express CD3-associated alpha/beta or gamma/delta T cell receptors.

Lymphokine activated killer (LAK) cells from athymic nude rats, previously shown to selectively kill MHC-incompatible small lymphocytes in vitro, were examined for rearrangement and expression of genes for the T cell antigen receptors. Southern blots showed no rearrangement of the TCR beta-chain genes, and Northern blots showed transcription only of truncated 1.0 kb beta-chain messages, but not of full-length, 1.3 kb beta-chain mRNA. Transcription of the alpha-chain of the TCR could not be detected, and surface staining with the mAb R73 showed no expression of the rat TCR alpha/beta heterodimer. Transcripts hybridizing with a rat TCR C gamma probe were detected on Northern blots, but probes for all presently characterized mouse V gamma genes failed to hybridize to the same filters, indicating that the C gamma-containing transcripts probably were from non-rearrangement genes. CD3 delta- and epsilon-chain transcripts could not be detected by Northern blot analysis. Less than 2% of the cells stained with the anti-rat CD3 monoclonal antibody 1F4, and incubation with 1F4 had no effect on the alloreactivity of nude rat LAK cells. We have previously shown that immunoglobulin is not involved in the killing of the allogeneic lymphocytes. The most likely interpretation of these results is therefore that nude rat LAK cells express a novel receptor structure involved in allorecognition.