Abstract
NK cells are lymphocytes of the innate immune system which are a first line of defense against infections and tumor cells, in bone marrow and peripheral organs like lung and spleen. The lung is an organ in contact with respiratory pathogens and the site of inflammatory disorders triggered by the respiratory environment. In contrast, spleen is a lymphatic organ connected to the blood system which regulates the systemic immune response. Here we compare NK cell maturation and expansion as well as expression of NK cell receptors in spleen and lung compartments. We show that spleen and lung NK cells differ in phenotypic and functional characteristics due to a difference of maturity and cellular microenvironment. Indeed we observe that spleen and lung macrophages have the capacity to influence the cytotoxicity of NK cells by cell-to-cell contact. This suggests that the differences of NK cell subsets are in part due to a modulation by the organ environment.
Highlights
NK cells are lymphocytes present all around the body, which contribute to trigger antiviral and anti-tumor defense
They participate in the resistance against infectious agents and influence the acquired immune response by cytotoxic activity and the secretion of cytokines, IFN-c and Th2-associated cytokines such as IL-5 and IL-13 and the immunoregulatory cytokine IL-10 [1,2]
NK Cell Maturation and Receptor Expression Change Depending on the Organ
Summary
NK cells are lymphocytes present all around the body, which contribute to trigger antiviral and anti-tumor defense. We investigated the potentially different role of lung and spleen macrophages in the regulation of NK cell activity, by comparing in vitro, the NK cell cytotoxicity in the presence of these two subsets of macrophages. The expression level at the cell surface, reflected by the mean fluorescence intensities (MFI) of the Ly49 inhibitory receptors (Ly49C/I, Ly49F and G2) is higher in NK cells from the spleen than from the lung (Fig. 2, B).
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