The contribution of innate immunity to immunosurveillance of the oncogenic Human Herpes Virus 8 (HHV8) has not been studied in depth. We investigated NK cell phenotype and function in 70 HHV8-infected subjects, either asymptomatic carriers or having developed Kaposi's sarcoma (KS). Our results revealed substantial alterations of the NK cell receptor repertoire in healthy HHV8 carriers, with red...

Little is known concerning the stimulatory receptors responsible for tumor cell lysis by NK cells. We generated a monoclonal antibody specific for murine NKG2D in order to investigate its function. Blocking of NKG2D inhibited natural cytotoxicity of all tumor cells tested that express ligands for the receptor. Staining analysis showed that NKG2D is also expressed by activated CD8(+) T cells and...

Natural killer (NK) cells are stimulated by ligands on virus-infected cells. We have recently demonstrated that NK cells respond to human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1)-infected autologous T-cells, in part, through the recognition of ligands for the NK cell activating receptor NKG2D on the surface of the infected cells. Uninfected primary CD4(pos) T-cell blasts express little, if any, NK...

Radiotherapy sensitizes unresponsive tumors to the antineoplastic activity of antibodies that target the inhibitory receptor CTLA-4 on T cells. One molecular mechanism accounting for this therapeutic synergy is the induction of NKG2D ligands on irradiated tumor cells. The fact that NKG2D receptors must be engaged for the elicitation of CD8+ T-cell antitumor responses has important clinical impl...

Natural killer (NK) cells recognize and kill cancer cells and infected cells by engaging cell surface ligands that are induced preferentially or exclusively on these cells. These ligands are recognized by activating receptors on NK cells, such as NKG2D. In addition to activation by cell surface ligands, the acquisition of optimal effector activity by NK cells is driven in vivo by cytokines and ...

During the first trimester of human pregnancy, Natural Killer (NK) cells of the maternal uterine mucosa (e.g. decidua) have a unique phenotype and are involved in crucial physiological processes during pregnancy. We investigated whether modifications of the NK receptor repertoire occur during the first trimester of pregnancy. We found significantly decreased expression of KIR2DL1/S1 and KIR2DL2...

Long-term exposure to cigarette smoke (CS) can have deleterious effects on lung epithelial cells including cell death and the initiation of inflammatory responses. CS-induced cell injury can elaborate cell surface signals and cellular byproducts that stimulate immune system surveillance. Our previous work has shown that the expression of ligands for the cytotoxic lymphocyte activating receptor ...

PURPOSE NKG2D (natural killer group 2, member D) binds to cellular ligands of the MIC and ULBP/RAET family. These ligands have restricted expression in normal tissue, but are frequently expressed on primary tumors. The role of NKG2D ligands is thought to be important in carcinogenesis but its prognostic effect has not been investigated in such a large cohort. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN In our study,...