Natural Killer Cells and Their Interaction with Dendritic Cells in Hepatitis C Infection
Sara Ibrahim Abdel Fattah Taha;
Abstract
Hepatitis C is a viral infection of the liver that has affected around 200 million people globally. It is one of the significant causes of chronic liver disease with complications such as cirrhosis and liver cancer.
The immune response against HCV infection, includes both the innate and adaptive arms of immunity, with crosstalk between liver inhabitant and infiltrating cells, such as hepatocytes, Kupffer cells, DCs, NK cells, and other immune cells, which contribute to the host’s ability to resolve HCV infection.
Natural killer cells and DCs are innate cellular components that regulate adaptive immune responses in the immune surveillance of cancer and infections. Interaction of NK cells and DCs is bidirectional, it could result not only in NK cell activation but also in DC maturation or apoptosis, depending on the activation status of both players.
In the current study, we aimed to investigate the NK cell activation and inhibition status, and their role in interaction with DCs utilizing different combinations between NK cells and DCs in the presence of HCV peptidesin a ratio of 5NK:1DC.
The status of NK cells was assessed through studying the activation markers, CD16, CD69, NKG2D, NKp46, NKp30 and the inhibitory marker KLRG-1.
Our study was an experimental in-vitro study performed on fresh blood bags classified into 2 groups; blood bags from double positive PCR and ELISA HCV antibody donors and blood bags from double negative PCR and ELISA HCV antibody healthy donors. The results of this experiment may differ from what happens in-vivo but gave us a basic idea about NK cell and DC crosstalk.
The study showed that HCV NK cells upregulated both activation and inhibition markers. This was aided by their interaction with DCs especially healthy DCs, which still have intact functions.
Apoptosis of DCs and NK cells occurred more in HCV NK cultures due to their higher expression of both types of markers. Apoptosis of NK cells was more than DCs despite DC maturation defect due to HCV infection, suggesting that the inhibitory marker KLRG1 took the upper hand over the upregulated activation markers leading to impaired cytotoxic activity and NK cell apoptosis.
The immune response against HCV infection, includes both the innate and adaptive arms of immunity, with crosstalk between liver inhabitant and infiltrating cells, such as hepatocytes, Kupffer cells, DCs, NK cells, and other immune cells, which contribute to the host’s ability to resolve HCV infection.
Natural killer cells and DCs are innate cellular components that regulate adaptive immune responses in the immune surveillance of cancer and infections. Interaction of NK cells and DCs is bidirectional, it could result not only in NK cell activation but also in DC maturation or apoptosis, depending on the activation status of both players.
In the current study, we aimed to investigate the NK cell activation and inhibition status, and their role in interaction with DCs utilizing different combinations between NK cells and DCs in the presence of HCV peptidesin a ratio of 5NK:1DC.
The status of NK cells was assessed through studying the activation markers, CD16, CD69, NKG2D, NKp46, NKp30 and the inhibitory marker KLRG-1.
Our study was an experimental in-vitro study performed on fresh blood bags classified into 2 groups; blood bags from double positive PCR and ELISA HCV antibody donors and blood bags from double negative PCR and ELISA HCV antibody healthy donors. The results of this experiment may differ from what happens in-vivo but gave us a basic idea about NK cell and DC crosstalk.
The study showed that HCV NK cells upregulated both activation and inhibition markers. This was aided by their interaction with DCs especially healthy DCs, which still have intact functions.
Apoptosis of DCs and NK cells occurred more in HCV NK cultures due to their higher expression of both types of markers. Apoptosis of NK cells was more than DCs despite DC maturation defect due to HCV infection, suggesting that the inhibitory marker KLRG1 took the upper hand over the upregulated activation markers leading to impaired cytotoxic activity and NK cell apoptosis.
Other data
| Title | Natural Killer Cells and Their Interaction with Dendritic Cells in Hepatitis C Infection | Other Titles | الخلايا القاتلة الطبيعية وتفاعلها مع الخلايا المتغصنة فى حالات الالتهاب الكبدى الفيروسى "سى" | Authors | Sara Ibrahim Abdel Fattah Taha | Issue Date | 2017 |
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