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Blood, 15 December 2006, Vol. 108, No. 13, pp. 4078-4085. Prepublished online as a Blood First Edition Paper on August 24, 2006; DOI 10.1182/blood-2006-04-017343. This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: blood-2006-04-017343v1 108/13/4078    most recent Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Rights and Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via CrossRef Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Vacca, P. Articles by Mingari, M. C. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Vacca, P. Articles by Mingari, M. C. Related Collections Immunobiology Social Bookmarking                   What's this?  Previous Article  |  Table of Contents  |  Next Article  IMMUNOBIOLOGY Analysis of natural killer cells isolated from human decidua: evidence that 2B4 (CD244) functions as an inhibitory receptor and blocks NK-cell function Paola Vacca, Gabriella Pietra, Michela Falco, Elisa Romeo, Cristina Bottino, Francesca Bellora, Federico Prefumo, Ezio Fulcheri, Pier Luigi Venturini, Mauro Costa, Alessandro Moretta, Lorenzo Moretta, and Maria Cristina Mingari From the Dipartamento di Oncologia, Biologia e Genetica, University of Genoa, Italy; the Dipartimento di Medicina Sperimentale, University of Genoa, Italy; the Instituto Giannina Gaslini, Genoa, Italy; the Dipartimento di Ginecologia ed Ostetricia, University of Genoa, Italy; the Dipartimento di Discipline Chirurgiche, Morfologiche e Metologie Integrate, University of Genoa, Italy; the Struttura Semplice di Diagnosi e Terapia dell'Infertilità, Ente Ospedaliero Ospedali Galliera, Genoa, Italy; the Centro di Eccelenza per la Ricerca Biomedia, University of Genoa, Italy; and the Istituto Nazonale per la Ricerca sul Cancro, Genoa, Italy. While during the first trimester of pregnancy natural killer (NK) cells represent the most abundant lymphocyte population in the decidua, their actual function at this site is still debated. In this study we analyzed NK cells isolated from decidual tissue for their surface phenotype and functional capability. We show that decidual NK (dNK) cells express normal surface levels of certain activating receptors, including NKp46, NKG2D, and 2B4, as well as of killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIRs) and CD94/NKG2A inhibitory receptor. In addition, they are characterized by high levels of cytoplasmic granules despite their CD56bright CD16– surface phenotype. Moreover, we provide evidence that in dNK cells, activating NK receptors display normal triggering capability whereas 2B4 functions as an inhibitory receptor. Thus, cross-linking of 2B4 resulted in inhibition of both cytolytic activity and interferon- (IFN-) production. Clonal analysis revealed that, in the majority of dNK cell clones, the 2B4 inhibitory function is related to the deficient expression of signaling lymphocyte activation molecule (SLAM)–associated protein (SAP) mRNA. Moreover, biochemical analysis revealed low levels of SAP in the dNK polyclonal population. This might suggest that dNK cells, although potentially capable of killing, are inhibited in their function when interacting with cells expressing CD48. CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this? This article has been cited by other articles: C. Vitale, F. Cottalasso, E. Montaldo, L. Moretta, and M. C. Mingari Methylprednisolone induces preferential and rapid differentiation of CD34+ cord blood precursors toward NK cells Int. Immunol., April 1, 2008; 20(4): 565 - 575. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] J. A. Wahle, K. H. T. Paraiso, R. D. Kendig, H. R. Lawrence, L. Chen, J. Wu, and W. G. Kerr Inappropriate Recruitment and Activity by the Src Homology Region 2 Domain-Containing Phosphatase 1 (SHP1) Is Responsible for Receptor Dominance in the SHIP-Deficient NK Cell J. Immunol., December 15, 2007; 179(12): 8009 - 8015. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

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