NK Markers Are Expressed on a High Percentage of Virus-Specific CD8+ and CD4+ T Cells

NK cells have been phenotypically defined by the expression of specific markers such as NK1.1, DX5, and asialo-GM1 (ASGM1). In addition to NK cells, a small population of CD3+ T cells has been shown to express these markers, and a unique subpopulation of NK1. 1+CD3+ T cells that expresses an invaria...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of immunology (1950) 2000-02, Vol.164 (4), p.2009-2015
Main Authors: Slifka, Mark K, Pagarigan, Robb R, Whitton, J. Lindsay
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
AIDS/HIV
Amino Acid Sequence
Animals
Antigens - biosynthesis
Antigens, Ly
Antigens, Surface
Biomarkers - analysis
CD4-CD8 Ratio
CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes - immunology
CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes - metabolism
CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes - virology
CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes - immunology
CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes - metabolism
CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes - virology
Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte - biosynthesis
G(M1) Ganglioside - metabolism
Immunologic Memory
Killer Cells, Natural - immunology
Killer Cells, Natural - metabolism
Kinetics
Lectins, C-Type
Lymphocyte Activation
Lymphocyte Depletion
Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus - immunology
Mice
Mice, Inbred C57BL
Molecular Sequence Data
NK Cell Lectin-Like Receptor Subfamily B
Protein Biosynthesis
Proteins
T-Lymphocyte Subsets - immunology
T-Lymphocyte Subsets - metabolism
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:NK cells have been phenotypically defined by the expression of specific markers such as NK1.1, DX5, and asialo-GM1 (ASGM1). In addition to NK cells, a small population of CD3+ T cells has been shown to express these markers, and a unique subpopulation of NK1. 1+CD3+ T cells that expresses an invariant TCR has been named "NKT cells." Here, we describe NK marker expression on a broad spectrum of MHC class I- and MHC class II-restricted T cells that are induced after acute viral infection. From 5 to >500 days post lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) infection, more than 90% of virus-specific CD8+ and CD4+ T cells coexpress one or more of these three prototypical NK markers. Furthermore, in vivo depletion of NK cells with anti-ASGM1 Ab resulted in the removal of 90% of virus-specific CD8+ T cells and 50-80% of virus-specific CD4+ T cells. This indicates that studies using in vivo depletion to determine the role of NK cells in immune defense could potentially be misinterpreted because of the unintended depletion of Ag-specific T cells. These results demonstrate that NK Ags are widely expressed on the majority of virus-specific T cells and indicate that the NK and T cell lineages may not be as distinct as previously believed. Moreover, the current nomenclature defining NKT cells will require comprehensive modification to include Ag-specific CD8+ and CD4+ T cells that express prototypical NK Ags.
ISSN:0022-1767
1550-6606
DOI:10.4049/jimmunol.164.4.2009