Effect of choriocarcinoma supernatant on natural killer and lymphokine-activated killer cell activity.

The effect of JEG-3 choriocarcinoma supernatant on human natural killer cell and lymphokine-activated killer cell activity was investigated. Choriocarcinoma supernatants from JEG-3 cell lines were obtained at the time of their optimal growth. K562 erythroblastoid cells were used as target cells for natural killer and lymphokine-activated killer cell mediated lysis in a 51Cr release assay. The choriocarcinoma supernatants had a significant dose-dependent suppressive effect on natural killer and lymphokine-activated killer cell activity. This suppression was more expressed at high effector: target cell ratios. Therefore, choriocarcinoma supernatants appear to have potent inhibitory effects on many aspects of cellular immunity, although, additional studies should be performed to further characterize and identify immunoregulatory molecule(s) in choriocarcinoma supernatants.