Measurement of intracellular ATP content by the luciferin-luciferase photometric reaction appears to be an extremely sensitive method for detecting complement dependent cytotoxicity (DCD) mediated by antibodies directed against H-2 antigens. Within the 15 min following the addition of complement, a considerable loss of ATP is observed in the antibody-coated target cells. The reaction is detectable using normal spleen lymphocytes as target cells, completely specific and much more sensitive than the classical dye exclusion test. Preliminary findings from our current study indicate that this simple and very rapid CDC method should be considered for the purpose of HLA ABC and D typing in humans.
Adenosine Triphosphate Animals