Effects of taxol and taxol/hyperthermia treatments on the functional polarization of cytotoxic T lymphocytes.

Immunofluorescence staining, electron microscopy, and (51Cr) cytolytic release assays are used to investigate the effects of taxol and taxol/hyperthermia treatments on the microtubule organization and cytolytic activity of cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs). A 4 h treatment of CTLs with 1 microM taxol results in an extensive reorganization of the microtubule system to form one to a few large microtubule bundles that extend from the centrosome. The Golgi apparatus is not disrupted by this treatment and remains associated with the microtubule organizing centre (MTOC). This microtubule reorganization has no effect on the ability of CTLs to orient their MTOC towards a bound target cell, nor on their cytolytic activity. In control CTLs, not treated with taxol, a mild hyperthermia treatment (42 degrees C, 30 min) results in an aggregation of the pericentriolar material, a loss of MTOC orientation, an inhibition of cytolytic activity, and a disorganization of the microtubule system [Knox et al.: Exp. Cell Res. 194:275-283, 1991]. In contrast, in taxol-treated CTLs the stabilized microtubule bundles are unaffected by such hyperthermia treatment; however, the other effects of hyperthermia appear identical in control and taxol-treated CTLs. These results indicate that a dynamic, radially arranged microtubule array is not required for the functional polarization of CTLs and suggest that a component of the pericentriolar material may play a key role in effecting MTOC orientation.