LFA-1 and Lyt-2,3, Molecules Associated with T Lymphocyte-Mediated Killing; and Mac-1, an LFA-1 Homologue Associated with Complement Receptor Function

The authors probe the functional moieties of the cytolytic T lymphocyte (CTL) in situ. The idea behind these studies was that binding of monoclonal antibodies to functionally important CTL surface components would result in steric hindrance and inhibit killing, whereas binding of monoclonal antibodies to other CTL surface components would have no effect. Using this approach, the authors identified a novel CTL surface component, LFA-1, described its association with killing, and confirmed the association with killing of another antigen, Lyt-2,3. This review summarizes published work and highlight more recent work on the structure and role in CTL function of LFA-1 and Lyt-2,3. The homology of LFA-1 to Mac-1, a macrophage differentiation antigen, and association of Mac-1 with the type three complement receptor function on myeloid is also described.