Natural killer (NK) cells are innate immune lymphocytes that express a heterogeneous repertoire of germline-encoded receptors and undergo a distinct pattern of maturation. CD57 is a marker of terminal differentiation on human CD8+ T cells. Very few newborn or fetal NK cells express CD57; however, the frequency of CD57-bearing NK cells increases with age. We assessed the transcriptional, phenotypic, and functional differences between CD57 + and CD57- NK cells within the CD56dim mature NK subset. CD57+ NK cells express a repertoire of NK-cell receptors, suggestive of a more mature phenotype, and proliferate less when stimulated with target cells and/or cytokines. By contrast, a higher frequency of CD57 + NK cells produced interferon-γ and demonstrated more potent lytic activity when these cells were stimulated through the activating receptor CD16; however, they are less responsive to stimulation by interleukin-12 and interleukin-18. Finally, CD57 expression is induced on CD57-CD56 dim NK cells after activation by interleukin-2. A combination of a mature phenotype, a higher cytotoxic capacity, a higher sensitivity to stimulation via CD16, with a decreased responsiveness to cytokines, and a decreased capacity to proliferate suggest that CD57+ NK cells are highly mature and might be terminally differentiated. © 2010 by The American Society of Hematology.
CITATION STYLE
Lopez-Vergès, S., Milush, J. M., Pandey, S., York, V. A., Arakawa-Hoyt, J., Pircher, H., … Lanier, L. L. (2010). CD57 defines a functionally distinct population of mature NK cells in the human CD56dimCD16+ NK-cell subset. Blood, 116(19), 3865–3874. https://doi.org/10.1182/blood-2010-04-282301
Mendeley helps you to discover research relevant for your work.