title: Intracellular staining for analysis of the expression and phosphorylation of signal transducers and activators of transcription (STATs) in NK cells.
abstract: Cytokines stimulate biological responses by activating intracellular signaling pathways. We have been adapting flow cytometric techniques to measure the levels of expression and activation of signaling molecules within mixed populations containing NK cells and to characterize their differences within NK cell subpopulations. Approaches for evaluating the total levels of the signal transducers and activators of transcription STAT1 and STAT4, of STAT1 in cells expressing IFNgamma, and of the type 1 interferon (type 1 IFN) activation by phosphorylation, i.e., induction of pSTAT1 and pSTAT4, have been developed. The results of experiments using these techniques have demonstrated that an unusual feature of NK cells is high basal expression of STAT4 but reduced STAT1 levels. The condition predisposes for pSTAT4 activation by type 1 IFNs. The work has also shown, however, that total STAT1 levels are induced during viral infections as a result of IFN exposure, and that this change acts to promote the activation of STAT1 but limit both the activation of STAT4 and IFNgamma expression. The intracellular staining approaches used for the studies described here have utility in characterizing other mechanisms regulating cytokine-mediated signaling, and defining additional pathways shaping cellular responses to cytokines.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Division of Biology and Medicine, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA.
authors.forename: Takuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Miyagi
authors.forename: Seung-Hwan
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Christine A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Biron
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D042541:Intracellular Space / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D051379:Mice; D010766:Phosphorylation; D050791:STAT Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects; D013194:Staining and Labeling / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D050791:STAT Transcription Factors; D007371:Interferon-gamma