CML: A Method for Cellular Typing

Abstract

Cell-mediated lympholysis (CML) can be used as a cellular typing method to identify surface molecules that are recognized by cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs). The target molecules recognized by CTLs in many cases correlated with HLA specificities (either class I or class II) that can be defined with serological reagents. On the other hand, several studies have clearly demonstrated that CTLs can detect HLA determinants that do not correspond to known serological specificities [1–9]. In several cases the CTL-defined specificities have been shown biochemically to represent distinct class I molecular variants, for example for HLA- A2, B27, and B44 [10–13]. Other CTLs have been described which show lysis of allogeneic target cells that share no serologically detectable HLA-A, B, C, or DR specificities with the sensitizing cells, and further investigation will be required to define the genetic and molecular basis of these anomalous CML reactions [14–16]. It is certainly clear that CTLs are unique reagents for identifying minor histocompatibility antigens in man and for defining the molecular epitopes important in HLA restriction [17–20].