Yamada N, Nagatani T, Takiguchi M
Department of Tumor Biology, Institute of Medical Science, University of Tokyo, Japan.
Hum Immunol. 1998 Aug;59(8):488-92. doi: 10.1016/s0198-8859(98)00044-5.
The role of T cells carrying the killer cell inhibitory receptor (KIR) is unknown. Here we investigate the allo-response of KIR+ CD3+ cells (KIR+ T cells). KIR+ T cells was found in 4.6-14.7% of the T cells from the PBMC of healthy individuals. Flow cytometry analysis showed that the percentage of KIR+ T cells in T cells from three individuals was decreased after stimulation with allogeneic PBMC. These findings suggest that KIR+ T cells do not respond to alloantigens. Furthermore, the analyses using purified KIR+ T cells also confirmed that KIR+ T cells do not respond to alloantigens.
