Submitted July 24, 2003
Accepted August 14, 2003
Two-signal requirement for activation and effector function of natural killer cell response to allogeneic tumor cells
Jian-Xin Gao, Xingluo Liu, Jing Wen, Michael A Caligiuri, Iwona Stroynowski, Pan Zheng, and Yang Liu*
Department of Pathology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
Department of Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
Center for Immunology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA
* Corresponding author; email: zheng-1{at}medctr.osu.edu.
Optimal activation of T cells requires delivery of both antigenic and costimulatory signals. It is unclear, however, if the function of the natural killer (NK) cells is also modulated by these two signals. Here we report that efficient control of solid allogeneic tumors by NK cells depends on co-delivery of both B7-1 and MHC class I on the tumor cells. The co-delivery is required for optimal expansion and effector function of NK cells in response to both melanoma and plasmocytoma that expressed allogeneic MHC class I. Our results demonstrate that the two signals required for T cell function can also regulate NK immunity and reveal an important similarity between the innate NK response and adaptive T cell response.
