title: The role of vitamin A in natural killer cell cytotoxicity, number and activation in the rat.
abstract: The cause of low natural killer (NK) cell activity in vitamin-A-deficient rats was investigated in the current study. Cytotoxicity correlated with the percentage of NK cells (3.2.3-positive cells) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC; r = 0.85) and spleen (r = 0.70). Lytic activity per NK cell did not differ between vitamin-A-deficient rats and controls in PBMC, whereas it did in spleen. Vitamin A deficiency did not impair the ability to produce interferon (IFN), increase lytic efficiency and expand the NK cell pool upon poly(I:C) stimulation in vivo. Nor was the in vitro activation by IFN-alpha/beta or interleukin-2 affected. Thus, vitamin A is essential for maintaining basal NK cell number and activity, but not for NK cell activation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Medical College of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia 19129.
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Murasko
authors.forename: A C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Ross
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D007370:Interferon Type I / Q000276:immunology*; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000494:pharmacology; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D011070:Poly I-C / Q000494:pharmacology; D051381:Rats; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D014802:Vitamin A Deficiency / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D007370:Interferon Type I; D016898:Interferon-alpha; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D011070:Poly I-C