The activity of natural killer (NK) cells is regulated by surface receptors, which direct target cell recognition. NKp30 (Natural Cytotoxicity Receptor 3) induces target cell lysis and is also crucial for the interaction with dendritic cells. So far, the cellular ligands for NKp30 have remained elusive. Here we show that the nuclear factor HLA-B-associated transcript 3 (BAT3) was released from tumor cells, bound directly to NKp30, and engaged NKp30 on NK cells. BAT3 triggered NKp30-mediated cytotoxicity and was necessary for tumor rejection in a multiple myeloma model. These data identify BAT3 as a cellular ligand for NKp30. We propose a concept for target cell recognition by NK cells beyond "missing self" and "induced self," mediated through a tumor cell-derived extracellular factor.

CD300a is an immunoreceptor tyrosinebased inhibitory motif (ITIM) containing molecule that belongs to the CD300 family of paired activating/inhibitory receptors. It has been shown that its ligation inhibits activation signals on cells of both myeloid and lymphoid lineages. The ligands for CD300a have not been identified. Here, we show that a CD300a-Ig fusion protein specifically binds to apoptotic cells that are evolutionary apart, such as human and insect cells, suggesting that the ligand has to be conserved. Using surface plasmon resonance, ultracentrifugation, ELISA, and reporter cell assays, we identified phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) and phosphatidylserine (PS), 2 phospholipids that translocate to the outer leaflet of the plasma membrane of dead cells, as the ligands for CD300a. Mutational and structural modeling studies identified residues that are involved in the binding of CD300a to PE and PS and that form a cavity where the hydrophilic heads of PE and PS, can penetrate. CD300a down-regulates the uptake of apoptotic cells by macrophages and its ectopic expression in CD300a-negative cell lines also decreased the engulfment of dead cells. Collectively, our results indicate that PE and PS are ligands for CD300a, and that this interaction plays an important role in regulating the removal of dead cells. IntroductionA rising number of publications have described the diversity of paired activating and inhibitory cell surface molecules. 1,2 The human CD300 family of receptors has 7 members and all of them have an extracellular immunoglobulin (Ig)V-like domain. 3 The activating members of this family have a short intracellular tail and associate with immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motif (ITAM)-containing adaptor proteins, such as DAP12 and Fc⑀RI␥, 3,4 whereas the inhibitory members have a long intracellular tail that carry immunoreceptor tyrosine-based inhibitory motifs (ITIM). 3,5 This multi-gene family is clustered on human chromosome 17 and they are expressed on cells of both lymphoid and myeloid lineages. 3 The gene encoding CD300a has undergone a very significant positive selection, suggesting an essential requirement for the host to evolve and maintain its function. 6 CD300a is broadly expressed across different cell types including natural killer (NK) cells, T cells, B cells, neutrophils, plasmacytoid dendritic cells, mast cells, and eosinophils, among others. 3,[7][8][9][10] The cytoplasmic tail contains 3 classic and one nonclassic ITIM. Thus far, CD300a has been shown to function as an inhibitory receptor. For instance, the ligation of CD300a decreased NK cytotoxic activity, 5,11 inhibited IgE-mediated degranulation of mast cells, 8 B-cell receptor (BCR) and T-cell receptor (TCR)-mediated signaling, 10,12 reduced Fc␥RIIa-triggered reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in human neutrophils, 7 and suppressed the effects of eotaxin, IL-5, and granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) on human eosinophils. 13 A single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) that encodes for a nonsynonymo...

NKp30, a natural cytotoxicity receptor expressed on NK cells is critically involved in direct cytotoxicity against various tumor cells and directs both maturation and selective killing of dendritic cells. Recently the intracellular protein BAT3, which is involved in DNA damage induced apoptosis, was identified as a ligand for NKp30. However, the mechanisms underlying the exposure of the intracellular ligand BAT3 to surface NKp30 and its role in NK-DC cross talk remained elusive. Electron microscopy and flow cytometry demonstrate that exosomes released from 293T cells and iDCs express BAT3 on the surface and are recognized by NKp30-Ig. Overexpression and depletion of BAT3 in 293T cells directly correlates with the exosomal expression level and the activation of NK cell-mediated cytokine release. Furthermore, the NKp30-mediated NK/DC cross talk resulting either in iDC killing or maturation was BAT3-dependent. Taken together this puts forward a new model for the activation of NK cells through intracellular signals that are released via exosomes from accessory cells. The manipulation of the exosomal regulation may offer a novel strategy to induce tumor immunity or inhibit autoimmune diseases caused by NK cell-activation.

Key Points• Exosomal NKp30-ligand BAG6 is crucial for detection of tumor cells by NK cells in vitro and in vivo.• Soluble plasma factors including BAG6 suppress NK cell cytotoxicity and promote evasion of CLL cells from NK cell anti-tumor activity.Natural killer (NK) cells are a major component of the anti-tumor immune response. NK cell dysfunctions have been reported in various hematologic malignancies, including chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Here we investigated the role of tumor cellreleased soluble and exosomal ligands for NK cell receptors that modulate NK cell activity. Soluble CLL plasma factors suppressed NK cell cytotoxicity and downregulated the surface receptors CD16 and CD56 on NK cells of healthy donors. The inhibition of NK cell cytotoxicity was attributed to the soluble ligand BAG6/BAT3 that engages the activating receptor NKp30 expressed on NK cells. Soluble BAG6 was detectable in the plasma of CLL patients, with the highest levels at the advanced disease stages. In contrast, NK cells were activated when BAG6 was presented on the surface of exosomes. The latter form was induced in non-CLL cells by cellular stress via an nSmase2-dependent pathway. Such cells were eliminated by lymphocytes in a xenograft tumor model in vivo. Here, exosomal BAG6 was essential for tumor cell killing because BAG6-deficient cells evaded immune detection. Taken together, the findings show that the dysregulated balance of exosomal vs soluble BAG6 expression may cause immune evasion of CLL cells. (Blood. 2013;121(18):3658-3665) IntroductionChronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients suffer from severe immune defects resulting in increased susceptibility to infections and failure to generate an anti-tumor immune response. 1 Natural killer (NK) cells, lymphocytes of the innate immune system, are considered to be a major component of the immunosurveillance in leukemia. [2][3][4] However, little is known about the functionality of NK cells and their role in tumor immune escape in CLL.NK cells are tightly regulated by inhibitory or activating "missing self" and "induced self" signals sensed via cell surface receptors. 5 The best examined activating receptors are the Fc receptor CD16, NKG2D, and the natural cytotoxicity receptors (NCRs) NKp30, NKp44, and NKp46. Known ligands for NKG2D are the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I-related molecules MICA/B and the UL16-binding proteins (ULBP1, ULBP2, ULBP3, ULBP4, ULBP5, and ULBP6) that are induced upon cellular stress on target cells. 6,7 Only a few ligands for the NCRs have been identified to date. [8][9][10][11][12][13][14] Surprisingly, among novel ligands for NKp30 (BAG6 [BAT3], 10 B7-H6 11 ), NKp44 (proliferating cell nuclear antigen 12 ) and NKp46 (vimentin 13,14 ), only B7-H6 is a surface membrane ligand. BAG6, proliferating cell nuclear antigen, and vimentin are proteins without any classical transmembrane domain and are known to exert divergent intracellular functions, including protein sorting and transport, proliferation, and apoptosis. It is still ...

The inability of the immune system to recognize and kill malignant plasma cells in patients with multiple myeloma (MM) has been attributed in part to the ineffective activation of natural killer (NK) cells. In order to activate and target NK cells to the malignant cells in MM we designed a novel recombinant bispecific protein (ULBP2-BB4). While ULBP2 binds the activating NK receptor NKG2D, the BB4 moiety binds to CD138, which is overex-pressed on a variety of malignancies, including MM. ULBP2-BB4 strongly activated primary NK cells as demonstrated by a significant increase in interferon-(IFN-) secretion. In vitro, ULBP2-BB4 enhanced the NK-mediated lysis of 2 CD138 human MM cell lines, U-266 and RPMI-8226, and of primary malignant plasma cells in the allogenic and autolo-gous setting. Moreover, in a nude mouse model with subcutaneously growing RPMI-8226 cells, the cotherapy with ULBP-BB4 and human peripheral blood lympho-cytes abrogated the tumor growth. These data suggest potential clinical use of this novel construct in patients with MM. The use of recombinant NK receptor ligands that target NK cells to tumor cells might offer new approaches for other malignan-cies provided a tumor antigen-specific antibody is available. (Blood. 2006;107: 1955-1962)