2 research outputs found
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No monkey business: why studying NK cells in non-human primates pays off
Human NK (hNK) cells play a key role in mediating host immune responses against various infectious diseases. For practical reasons, the majority of the data on hNK cells has been generated using peripheral blood lymphocytes. In contrast, our knowledge of NK cells in human tissues is limited, and not much is known about developmental pathways of hNK cell subpopulations in vivo. Although research in mice has elucidated a number of fundamental features of NK cell biology, mouse, and hNK cells significantly differ in their subpopulations, functions, and receptor repertoires. Thus, there is a need for a model that is more closely related to humans and yet allows experimental manipulations. Non-human primate models offer numerous opportunities for the study of NK cells, including the study of the role of NK cells after solid organ and stem cell transplantation, as well as in acute viral infection. Macaque NK cells can be depleted in vivo or adoptively transferred in an autologous system. All of these studies are either difficult or unethical to carry out in humans. Here we highlight recent advances in rhesus NK cell research and their parallels in humans. Using high-throughput transcriptional profiling, we demonstrate that the human CD56bright and CD56dim NK cell subsets have phenotypically and functionally analogous counterparts in rhesus macaques. Thus, the use of non-human primate models offers the potential to substantially advance hNK cell research
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Loss of CCR7 Expression on NK Cells Is Associated with a NK Cell-Like Phenotype and Correlates with HIV Viral Load
NK cells are pivotal sentinels of the innate immune system and distinct subpopulations in peripheral blood have been described. A number of studies addressed HIV-induced alterations of NK cell phenotype and functionality mainly focusing on and NK cells. However, the impact of HIV-infection on NK cells is less well understood. Here we report a rise of NK cells in HIV-infected individuals, which lack CCR7-expression and strongly correlate with HIV viral load. NK cells were characterized by increased cytolytic potential, higher activation states and a more differentiated phenotype. These cells thus acquired a number of features of NK cells. Furthermore, NK cells from HIV patients exhibited higher degranulation levels compared to uninfected individuals. Thus, chronic HIV-infection is associated with a phenotypic and functional shift of NK cells, which provides a novel aspect of HIV-associated pathogenesis within the NK cell compartment