title: Natural killer (NK) cell response after vaccination of volunteers with killed influenza vaccine.
abstract: Many experiments have shown convincingly that natural killer (NK) cell activity against viral infections is an important early defence mechanism in mice. Since the NK response occurs soon after infection, often long before clinical signs of disease become manifest, it has been difficult to design studies to monitor accurately NK cell kinetics following infection, without actually administering pathogens to volunteers. There is therefore little data pertaining to the role of NK cells in humans. Nevertheless, a number of studies have shown elevated NK activity in response to herpes simplex and influenza virus infections in humans. Our study was designed to show that NK activity could be provoked in humans by exposure to viral particles without actual live viral infection. The development of NK cell response in the peripheral blood of volunteers shortly after vaccination with killed influenza trivalent vaccine was studied. The results demonstrate that killed virus vaccine induces and augments NK cell activity for relatively long periods. Such data may prove valuable for designing possible modes of augmenting NK activity as a therapeutic tool.
authors.affiliation: Unit of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel.
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Schapiro
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Segev
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rannon
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Alkan
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Rager-Zisman
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003602:Cytotoxicity, Immunologic / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007252:Influenza Vaccines / Q000276:immunology*; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D015164:Vaccines, Inactivated / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D007252:Influenza Vaccines; D015164:Vaccines, Inactivated