CD8+NKR‐P1A+ T cells preferentially accumulate in human liver

S Ishihara, M Nieda, J Kitayama… - European journal of …, 1999 - Wiley Online Library
S Ishihara, M Nieda, J Kitayama, T Osada, T Yabe, Y Ishikawa, H Nagawa, T Muto, T Juji
European journal of immunology, 1999Wiley Online Library
A unique subset of T cells that co‐express NKR‐P1, which is a lectin type of NK receptor and
is thought to have a major role in triggering NK activity, has been identified. In mice, NK1. 1
(mouse NKR‐P1C)+ T cells, called NKT cells, preferentially accumulate in the liver and bone
marrow. They predominantly use invariant Vα14 chain TCR and phenotypically are CD4+
CD8− or CD4− CD8− T cells. In this study, we analyzed, phenotypically and functionally, the
NKR‐P1A (analogue of murine NKR‐P1C)+ T cells resident in the human liver. Here, we …
Abstract
A unique subset of T cells that co‐express NKR‐P1, which is a lectin type of NK receptor and is thought to have a major role in triggering NK activity, has been identified. In mice, NK1.1 (mouse NKR‐P1C)+ T cells, called NKT cells, preferentially accumulate in the liver and bone marrow. They predominantly use invariant Vα14 chain TCR and phenotypically are CD4+CD8 or CD4CD8 T cells. In this study, we analyzed, phenotypically and functionally, the NKR‐P1A (analogue of murine NKR‐P1C)+ T cells resident in the human liver. Here, we show that in complete contrast to the NKT cells in the mouse liver, the majority of NKR‐P1A+ T cells in the human liver are CD8+ and their TCR repertoire is not skewed to Vα24 TCR, the homologue of murine Vα14 TCR. Almost all of the NKR‐P1A+ T cells in the human liver expressed CD69, suggesting that they were activated. Furthermore, the NKR‐P1A+ T cells in the human liver exhibited strong cytotoxicity against a variety of tumor cell lines including K562, Molt4 and some colonic adenocarcinoma cell lines.
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