Natural Killer (NK) Cells

A special issue of Antibodies (ISSN 2073-4468).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2013) | Viewed by 16754

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Division of Transfusion Medicine and Therapeutic Pathology, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
Interests: mouse NK cell education; inhibitory receptors; activating receptors; signal transduction; cytotoxicity

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Natural killer (NK) cells play an important role in defense against tumors and infections. When activated, NK cells can produce proinflammatory cytokines and directly eradicate tumor or pathogen-infected cells by mediating cytotoxicity. One important mechanism by which NK cells recognize target cells is through interaction of their Fcγ receptor with IgG-coated targeted cells or IgG immune complexes. Ligation of the Fcγ receptor involves the phosphorylation of immunotyrosine-based activation motif (ITAM)s in the intracellular portion of the Fcγ chain leading to downstream signal transduction events important for NK cell responses. Activation through ITAM-bearing immunoreceptors is critical for NK cell development and function in pathological and non-pathological states.

This special issue of Antibodies is focused on NK cell activation through Fcγ receptors or by other immunoreceptors utilizing ITAM-bearing adaptors and I kindly invite you to submit your novel results to this special issue. Welcome are manuscripts describing in vitro or in vivo function of NK cells activated through these receptors, signal transduction through these receptors, and acquisition or effects of these receptors in NK cell development or homeostasis.

Dr. Taku Kambayashi
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • NK cells
  • Fcγ receptor
  • cytotoxicity
  • cytokine
  • antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC)
  • signal transduction
  • NK cell development
  • NK cell effector function
  • immunoreceptor

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Review

243 KiB  
Review
Invariant Natural Killer T Cells
by Antonella Cianferoni
Antibodies 2014, 3(1), 16-36; https://doi.org/10.3390/antib3010016 - 23 Dec 2013
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 8830
Abstract
Invariant Natural killer T cell (iNKT cells) are a subset of T cells, which are narrowly defined as a T cell lineage expressing a semi-invariant CD1d-restricted T cell Receptors (TCRs) composed by Vα24-Jα18/Vβ11 in human, and Vα14-Jα18/Vβ8,Vβ7, and Vβ2 in mouse. Unlike conventional [...] Read more.
Invariant Natural killer T cell (iNKT cells) are a subset of T cells, which are narrowly defined as a T cell lineage expressing a semi-invariant CD1d-restricted T cell Receptors (TCRs) composed by Vα24-Jα18/Vβ11 in human, and Vα14-Jα18/Vβ8,Vβ7, and Vβ2 in mouse. Unlike conventional T cells which recognize peptides bound to highly polymorphic major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I and II molecules, iNKT cells recognize lipid antigens, such as glycolipids, presented by CD1d, a non-polymorphic non-classical MHC class I molecule. Lipids derived from microbes, tumors, and allergens, as well as self lipids have been shown to be able to activate iNKT cells. Early on, in an immune response, ligation of the iNKT cell TCR leads to rapid and copious secretion of prototypical Th1 and Th2 cytokines. Moreover, like NK cells, iNKT cells express cytotoxic granules, such as perforin and granzyme that polarize upon activation of TCR and are able to kill target cells. Therefore iNKT cells are a very interesting subset of T cells that may bridge the innate and adaptive immune systems. Indeed, iNKT cells can mount specific responses to antigen with cytokine production and cytotoxic activity, however, their TCR evolved to recognize different glycolipid antigens in a conserved manner and to perform innate-like rather than adaptive functions. iNKT cells are now recognized as important players in atopic, autoimmune, infectious diseases, and cancer. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Natural Killer (NK) Cells)
368 KiB  
Review
The Role of CD2 Family Members in NK-Cell Regulation of B-Cell Antibody Production
by Dorothy Yuan
Antibodies 2014, 3(1), 1-15; https://doi.org/10.3390/antib3010001 - 19 Dec 2013
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 7447
Abstract
Natural Killer (NK) cells, an important component of the innate immune system, can mount much more rapid responses upon activation than adaptive antigen specific responses. Among the various functions attributed to NK cells their effect on antibody production merits special attention. The modification [...] Read more.
Natural Killer (NK) cells, an important component of the innate immune system, can mount much more rapid responses upon activation than adaptive antigen specific responses. Among the various functions attributed to NK cells their effect on antibody production merits special attention. The modification of IgG subclasses distribution as well as the amplification of the B cell response can be functionally relevant both for mediation of antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) and for control of dysregulated autoantibody production. In this review recent experimental evidence for the mechanistic basis of the effect of NK cells on B cell-responses will be covered. Thus, it will be shown that these effects are mediated not only via activation of cytokine and Toll-like receptors (TLR), but also by direct receptor-ligand interactions. Importantly, the function of these receptor/ligands, CD48 and CD244, do not require recognition of class I-MHC molecules but are more dependent on inflammatory conditions brought about by infection or oncogenesis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Natural Killer (NK) Cells)
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