Altered Coexpression of Lectin-Like Receptors CD94 and CD161 on NK and T Cells in HIV Patients

Abstract

HIV patients either on highly active antiviral therapy (HAART) or therapy naive were analyzed for their CD56 phenotype and cytokine production in comparison to healthy controls (HC). Both NK cell populations (CD56(dim) and CD56(bright)) are found to be present in all groups with selectively decreased CD56(dim) NK cells in HAART naive patients. Patients on HAART exhibited significantly diminished numbers of CD161+CD56(dim) NK cells. CD56(dim) were equally potent in producing IFNgamma in all three groups. The number of TNFalpha+CD56(bright) NK cells from patients on HAART and TNFalpha+CD56(dim) NK cells from HAART naive patients was significantly reduced as compared to healthy controls. In summary our data revealed that functional capacities and coexpression patterns of lectin-like receptors on lymphocytes are differentially affected in HIV patients depending on the state of therapy (under HAART or HAART naive) or the cell type (NK or T cells), respectively.

A cross-sectional study of C-type lectin receptors (CD94 and CD314) in patients with HIV/AIDS and cancer

“…Other authors also found significant reduction of IL-10 in patients treated with HAART [47]. However, a study of Jacobs et al (2004) [48] as our study also found no significant changes in the expression of CD94, even in patients treated with HAART. This study and others establish a counterpoint to this analysis that HAART can influence recovery of CD94 expression.…”

Characterization of CD56–/CD16+natural killer (NK) cells: A highly dysfunctional NK subset expanded in HIV-infected viremic individuals

“…The levels of a large panel of NK-related cytokines were assessed in the supernatants from cultures of total unfractionated, CD56 Ϫ , and CD56 ϩ NK cells after 6 days of stimulation with rIL-2 and 12 h with phytohemagglutinin. As reported by several studies (13,(22)(23)(24), activated NK cells from HIV-viremic patients secrete significantly lower levels of IFN-␥, TNF-␣, and GM-CSF as compared with NK cells isolated from healthy donors. Furthermore, within the cohort of viremic subjects, activated NK cells derived from fresh CD56 Ϫ cells produced significantly lower levels of IFN-␥, TNF-␣, and GM-CSF as compared with the levels secreted by activated CD56 ϩ NK cells (Fig.…”

“…IFN-␥, TNF-␣, and GM-CSF can play a role in activating antiviral activities of other cell types (41); however, they can also promote the maturation and migration of dendritic cells, allowing effective antigen-presentation for the adaptive immune response (3,21). A significant reduction in levels of IFN-␥, TNF-␣, and GM-CSF produced by NK cells from viremic patients versus healthy donors has been previously reported (13,(22)(23)(24). The present study demonstrates that the CD56 Ϫ NK subset is particularly impaired in its ability to produce these cytokines.…”

Increased Activity of NK Cells and Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cells in HIV-Exposed Seronegative (ESN) Individuals

“…Intracellular staining for IFNγ and TNFα in NK Cells was carried out as described elsewhere [9]. Prior to intracellular staining for cytokine production, cells were stimulated with PMA (50 ng/mL) and ionomycin (1 µg/ mL, Sigma-Aldrich, USA).…”

“…The innate immune system is composed of a wide variety of cellular components including NK cells and dendritic cells which play a significant role in preventing the infection by pathogens. Natural killer (NK) cells, which account for about 10% of peripheral blood lymphocytes, are very effective in producing cytokines like IFNγ, TNFα and GM-CSF which are important regulators of immune responses and haematopoiesis and link the innate to the adaptive immune response through a bidirectional cross-talk with 7 dendritic cells [8,9]. Although low numbers of NK cells have been shown to be associated with rapid progression to AIDS in HIV-infected individuals [10], their role in protection against the establishment of HIV-1 infection remains to be fully elucidated.…”