We investigated the presence of integrins and various other cell surface markers on the surface of freshly isolated CD56dim+ and CD56bright+ NK cells, the latter comprising a mean of 6.5% of total peripheral blood (PB) CD3––CD56+ NK cells. This small subpopulation stained more intensively for CD2, CD11c, CD15s, CD44, CD49e, CD55, CD62L, HLA-DR, and GZS-1, whereas there was no expression of CD49f in contrast to CD56dim+ cells. The myeloid antigen CDw65 was present on 11% of CD56bright+ cells, other myeloid markers were not found. 28% of CD56bright+ cells were positive for CD45R0. These results support the notion that CD56bright+ NK cells, based on their different marker profile, may possess different functional and biodistributional properties and – due to the signal-transducing capabilities of several adhesion molecules – differential patterns of stimulability compared to the majority of PB-NK cells.
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