Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

Natural killer (NK) cells are activated early during inflammatory events and contribute to the shaping of the ensuing adaptive immune response. To further understand the role for NK cells in inflammation, we investigated the phenotype and function of synovial fluid (SF) NK cells from patients with chronic joint inflammation, as well as from patients with transient inflammation of the knee following trauma. We confirm that synovial NK cells are similar to the well-characterized CD56(bright) peripheral blood (PB) NK-cell subset present in healthy individuals. However, compared to this PB subset the synovial NK cells express a higher degree of activation markers including CD69 and NKp44, the latter being up-regulated also on CD56(bright) NK cells in the PB of patients. Activated synovial NK cells produced interferon-gamma and tumour necrosis factor, and the production was further up-regulated by antibody masking of CD94/NKG2A, and down-regulated by target cells expressing human leucocyte antigen-E in complex with peptides known to engage CD94/NKG2A. We conclude that synovial NK cells have an activated phenotype and that CD94/NKG2A is a key regulator of synovial NK-cell cytokine synthesis.

Original publication

DOI

10.1111/j.1365-2567.2007.02638.x

Type

Journal article

Journal

Immunology

Publication Date

10/2007

Volume

122

Pages

291 - 301

Keywords

Adult, Aged, Cells, Cultured, Coculture Techniques, Cytokines, HLA Antigens, Histocompatibility Antigens Class I, Humans, Immunophenotyping, Killer Cells, Natural, Knee Injuries, Knee Joint, Middle Aged, NK Cell Lectin-Like Receptor Subfamily C, NK Cell Lectin-Like Receptor Subfamily D, Osteoarthritis, Knee, Receptors, Immunologic, Receptors, Natural Killer Cell, Synovial Fluid