P-170 glycoprotein (P-170) is involved in the impairment of natural killer cell-mediated cytotoxicity in HIV+ patients.
In the present study we analyze peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) from patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection for both phenotypic expression and function of P-glycoprotein (P-170). This transmembrane efflux pump is known to be one of the mechanisms responsible for the multidrug resistance (MDR) in cancer therapy and it is also constitutively expressed in normal PBL. P-170 function, evaluated as Rhodamine 123 (Rh123) efflux in flow cytometry, was found to be significantly reduced in CD16+ natural killer (NK) cells from patients with HIV infection. Interestingly, this reduced efflux significantly correlates with the decreased NK cytotoxicity observed in HIV+ patients, as evaluated against the NK-specific K562 target cell line. These results support a possible role of the P-170-related pump in specific immunological lymphocyte function such as NK cell-mediated cytotoxicity.
Lucia
M B
MB
Istituto di Clinica delle Malattie Infettive, Rome, Italy.
Cauda
R
R
Malorni
W
W
Rainaldi
G
G
Tumbarello
M
M
Tacconelli
E
E
Rumi
C
C
Donelli
G
G
Ortona
L
L
D020168:ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily B, Member 1 / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000502:physiology*; D000328:Adult; D019002:CD56 Antigen / Q000276:immunology; D003602:Cytotoxicity, Immunologic; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017452:Receptors, IgG / Q000276:immunology
D020168:ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily B, Member 1; D019002:CD56 Antigen; D017452:Receptors, IgG