Vermeulen Ben L, Devriendt Bert, Olyslaegers Dominique A, Dedeurwaerder Annelike, Desmarets Lowiese M, Grauwet Korneel L, Favoreel Herman W, Dewerchin Hannah L, Nauwynck Hans J
Laboratory of Virology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Salisburylaan 133, B-9820 Merelbeke, Belgium.
Vet Immunol Immunopathol. 2012 Nov 15;150(1-2):69-78. doi: 10.1016/j.vetimm.2012.08.010. Epub 2012 Aug 31.
Natural killer (NK) cells play a central role in innate immunity and have been shown to influence adaptive immune responses as well. This study aimed to provide a general NK cell quantification and phenotyping in several compartments of healthy cats and assess their functional properties. The results indicated that NK numbers, both absolute and relative, and phenotype mostly correspond with those found in bovine, ovine, human and murine immunology. However, there were also distinct differences, especially with regard to the expression of the integrin CD11b and the selectin CD62L (between 10 and 30% of feline NK cells stain positive for these markers) and the relative frequencies in lymph nodes (6.7%), which stand central in NK cell development. Caution should be taken when extrapolating findings on NK cell properties over species, notwithstanding the generally accepted evolutionary conservation of NK cells and their subtypes. It was also shown that K562 cells, the 'golden' target cell line for NK functionality tests did not work for feline cells. The feline kidney cell line CRFK proved to be very responsive to NK- and NKT-mediated lysis and therefore, represents an ideal alternative target. This study is a good reference for NK cell numbers, both absolute and relative, phenotype and function in several anatomical compartments of healthy cats and for cat-specific cytotoxic assays involving both NK and NKT cells.
自然杀伤（NK）细胞在固有免疫中发挥核心作用，并且已被证明也会影响适应性免疫反应。本研究旨在对健康猫的多个组织部位进行NK细胞的总体定量和表型分析，并评估其功能特性。结果表明，NK细胞的数量（包括绝对数量和相对数量）以及表型大多与牛、羊、人类和小鼠免疫学中的情况相符。然而，也存在明显差异，特别是在整合素CD11b和选择素CD62L的表达方面（10%至30%的猫NK细胞对这些标志物呈阳性染色）以及淋巴结中的相对频率（6.7%）方面，而淋巴结在NK细胞发育中起着核心作用。尽管NK细胞及其亚型在进化上具有普遍公认的保守性，但在跨物种推断NK细胞特性的研究结果时应谨慎。研究还表明，NK功能测试的“黄金”靶细胞系K562细胞对猫细胞不起作用。猫肾细胞系CRFK被证明对NK和NKT介导的裂解反应非常敏感，因此，是一种理想的替代靶标。本研究为健康猫的多个解剖组织部位中NK细胞的绝对数量和相对数量、表型及功能，以及涉及NK和NKT细胞的猫特异性细胞毒性测定提供了良好的参考。
