Donor-specific lysis of human kidney proximal tubular epithelial cells by renal allograft-infiltrating lymphocytes

In the present study methods are described to obtain both graft infiltrating cells (GIC) of host origin and proximal tubular epithelial cells (PTEC) of donor origin simultaneously from biopsy material of renal allografts undergoing rejection. The identity of PTEC cultures was established using monoclonal antibodies. GIC were shown to exhibit T cell functional activity. These GIC were shown to lyse trypsinized PTEC as well as PTEC monolayers grown from the corresponding biopsy, and not PTEC isolated from biopsies obtained from other patients. Therefore the lytic activity appeared to be donor-specific. Major histocompatibility complex class I antigens were involved since donor PHA-blasts, a target population well known to express class I molecules, were lysed by GIC, and the anti-class I MoAb W6/32 blocked cytolytic activity of GIC against donor PHA-blasts and against donor PTEC. We thus established that donor-specific lysis of a defined population of kidney epithelial cells, namely PTEC, may occur. This model system, in which GIC and PTEC can be propagated from one biopsy specimen may be useful for further study of cell-cell interactions involved in allograft rejection.