Investigation of KIR diversity in immunosenescence and longevity within the Irish population.
Natural killer (NK) cells play a pivotal role in the innate immune response. During the ageing process, variations occur in NK cell number and function. The cytolytic activity of NK cells is controlled by an array of activating and inhibitory cell surface receptors, including the killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIRs). In the present study, genetic diversity of the KIR loci was analysed with respect to successful ageing in the Irish population. A PCR-SSOP KIR gene identification system was employed to determine the frequency of the named KIR genes/pseudogenes and KIR genotypes within a healthy aged cohort and young control group. Although, two KIR genes (2DS3, 2DL5) displayed an initial increased frequency in the aged group, the significance of this association was lost when repeated in a second cohort. In view of the lack of studies to date, investigating the role of the KIR gene system in healthy ageing, further analysis of KIR diversity is required to fully elucidate it's role in respect to age-related disease and longevity.
Maxwell
Lynn D
LD
Northern Ireland Regional Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics Laboratory, Blood Transfusion Building, City Hospital, Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK. maxwelllynn@hotmail.com
Ross
Owen A
OA
Curran
Martin D
MD
Rea
I Maeve
IM
Middleton
Derek
D
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000235:genetics; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D005787:Gene Frequency; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D017874:Immediate-Early Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D007494:Ireland; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000502:physiology; D008136:Longevity / Q000235:genetics*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020559:Monomeric GTP-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D011336:Probability
D017874:Immediate-Early Proteins; C490245:GEM protein, human; D020559:Monomeric GTP-Binding Proteins