Expansion of CD16-Negative Natural Killer Cells in the Peripheral Blood of Patients with Metastatic Melanoma
Altered natural killer (NK) cell function is a component of the global immune dysregulation that occurs in advanced malignancies. Another condition associated with altered NK homeostasis is normal pregnancy, where robust infiltration with CD16− CD9+ NK cells can be identified in decidual tissues, al...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Hindawi Limited
2011-01-01
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| Series: | Clinical and Developmental Immunology |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2011/316314 |
| Summary: | Altered natural killer (NK) cell function is a component of the global immune dysregulation that occurs in advanced malignancies. Another condition associated with altered NK homeostasis is normal pregnancy, where robust infiltration with CD16− CD9+ NK cells can be identified in decidual tissues, along with a concomitant expansion of CD16− NK cells in the maternal peripheral blood. In metastatic melanoma, we identified a similar expansion of peripheral blood CD16− NK cells (median 7.4% in 41 patients with melanoma compared with 3.0% in 29 controls, P<.001). A subset of NK cells in melanoma patients also expresses CD9, which is characteristically expressed only on NK cells within the female reproductive tract. Expansion of CD16− NK cells was associated with elevated plasma transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β levels (median 20 ng/ml, Spearman's ρ=0.81,P=.015)). These findings suggest the possibility of exploring anti-TGF-β therapy to restore NK function in melanoma. |
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| ISSN: | 1740-2522 1740-2530 |