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Effects of inhibitors of tumoricidal activity upon schistosomulum killing by activated macrophages

Larvae of the helminth parasite Schistosoma mansoni are efficiently killed in vitro by lymphokine-activated macrophages, leading to the hypothesis that these cells may participate in the effector mechanism of protective immunity against schistosomiasis. Larvacidal activity has also been demonstrated in the IC-21 macrophage cell line in the absence of a demonstrable respiratory burst, indicating that macrophages possess nonoxidative mechanisms of schistosomulum killing. In this study, we demonstrated that IC-21 larval killing was most effective when contact was allowed between cells and target. Nonoxidative larvacidal activity was prevented by protein synthesis inhibitors, by the inhibition of microtubule polymerization, and by tosyllysylchloromethylketone but not by other inhibitors or substrates of tryptic or chymotryptic protease activity. The addition of excess iron to the culture also prevented IC-21-mediated larval killing, suggesting that the production of an iron-binding molecule may be involved. In contrast, the addition of excess thymidine or arginine did not reverse macrophage larvacidal activity, nor did lysosomotropic agents that depress the activity of acid hydrolases. Under appropriate conditions of activation and surface membrane stimulation, IC-21 cells could be induced to release soluble cytotoxic factors retaining larvacidal activity. These observations provide insight into the mechanism of macrophage-mediated schistosome killing, in comparison to the cytotoxic mechanisms described in the better-studied tumoricidal models, and supply a basis for further biochemical investigation of macrophage function against a multicellular target.