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Decrease in the Frequency of Circulating CD56+CD161+ NK Cells in Human Visceral Leishmaniasis.
Ambak Kumar Rai1,2, Chandreshwar Prasad Thakur3, Prabin Kumar1
1a Department of Transplant Immunology and Immunogenetics , All India Institutes of Medical Sciences , New Delhi , India.
Immunological Investigations
|November 29, 2017
Summary
Visceral leishmaniasis selectively depletes CD56+CD161+ Natural Killer (NK) cells in patients. Other NK cell subsets remain unaffected, suggesting a specific immune evasion strategy by Leishmania parasites.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Infectious Diseases
Background:
- Natural Killer (NK) cells are crucial for innate immunity, producing IFN-γ to combat intracellular infections like Leishmania.
- Leishmania parasites are known to inhibit NK cell activity, hindering early immune responses and promoting infection establishment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the frequency of distinct Natural Killer (NK) cell phenotypic subsets in patients with visceral leishmaniasis (VL).
Main Methods:
- Phenotyping of NK (CD3-) cells was performed using specific markers CD161 and CD56.
- Analysis focused on three distinct NK cell subsets: CD56-CD161+, CD56+CD161-, and CD56+CD161+.
Main Results:
- A selective reduction in the CD56+CD161+ subset of circulating NK cells was observed in visceral leishmaniasis patients.
- The CD56-CD161+ and CD56+CD161- NK cell subsets remained unaffected compared to healthy individuals.
Conclusions:
- The findings indicate a specific impact of visceral leishmaniasis on NK cell populations.
- The selective loss of the CD56+CD161+ NK cell subset may represent a mechanism employed by Leishmania parasites to evade early innate immune surveillance.
