Natural cytotoxicity of murine cytomegalovirus-infected cells mediated by mouse lymphoid cells: role of interferon in the endogenous natural cytotoxicity reaction.

Lymphoid cells from unstimulated normal C57BL/6J mice were shown to lyse murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV)-infected syngeneic mouse embryo fibroblasts but not uninfected mouse embryo fibroblasts. This cytotoxicity by mouse effector cells was not restricted to MCMV-infected syngeneic cells since MCMV-infected xenogeneic rat heart fibroblasts were also lysed. Characterization of the effector cells mediating this cytotoxicity against MCMV-infected cells indicated that the effector cells are similar to described natural killer (NK) cells mediating lysis of tumor cells and virus-infected cells. Because of the described augmentation of NK activity by interferon, we examined the role of interferon in the NK reaction. Although low levels of virus-induced interferon were detectable in supernatants of MCMV-infected mouse embryo fibroblasts, no interferon was detectable in supernatants of MCMV-infected rat heart fibroblasts, a target significantly more sensitive to NK cytolysis than infected mouse embryo fibroblasts. We were able to augment the NK reaction against MCMV-infected cells by in vitro treatments with interferon. However, the amounts of interferon required for augmentation were significantly greater than the amounts generated by infected target cells. In vitro interferon-stimulated NK cells retained selective cytotoxic activity since they continued to remain incapable of lysing uninfected target cells. MCMV-infected rat heart fibroblasts induced more interferon and were also more susceptible to NK activity than MCMV-infected mouse embryo fibroblasts. In spite of this difference in interferon-inducing capacity, there was no augmentation of cytotoxicity of MCMV-infected mouse embryo fibroblasts when mouse splenocytes were cocultivated with both target cells. Finally, when production of interferon in the NK reaction was inhibited by the addition of actinomycin D, no reduction of NK activity was seen. Our findings suggest that native mouse NK cells can discriminate between MCMV-infected cells and uninfected cells, this ability leading to the selective lysis of the virus-infected cells. Furthermore, although we could demonstrate augmentation of NK activity by interferon, interferon activation of NK cells may not be a necessary precondition for the development of endogenous NK activity.