title: Reduced degranulation of NK cells in patients with frequently recurring herpes.
abstract: NK cells lyse virus-infected cells by degranulation; however, alterations in NK cell degranulation in persistent viral infections have not been directly studied. Earlier reports have documented a decrease in NK activity in patients with frequently recurring herpes (FRH). We corroborate these findings by showing that the degranulation responses of blood NK cells from patients with FRH, both during relapse and during remission, are significantly lower than those in healthy donors. The impaired degranulation was probably not caused by defective target cell recognition, since it was observed upon stimulation both with K562 cells and with a receptor-independent stimulus (phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate plus ionomycin). We also show that the intracellular expression of perforin and CD107a by NK cells from patients with FRH is not different from that in healthy donors, thus excluding that the low NK cell degranulation in FRH is caused by a smaller size of the lytic granule compartment. We confirm previous reports on lowered NK activity in FRH patients and show that NK activity is significantly impaired only during remission, but not relapse; the causes for the discrepancy between the low degranulation and "normal" NK cell activity during relapse are discussed. In all, these data point at the deficit of NK cell degranulation in FRH. Whether this is a predisposing factor or a consequence of herpes simplex virus infection requires further investigation.
authors: Laboratory of Clinical Immunology, Institute of Immunology, Kashirskoe Shosse 24, Bldg. 2, 115478 Moscow, Russia.
authors: Vladimir V
authors: VV
authors: Murugin
authors: Irina N
authors: IN
authors: Zuikova
authors: Nina E
authors: NE
authors: Murugina
authors: Andrey E
authors: AE
authors: Shulzhenko
authors: Boris V
authors: BV
authors: Pinegin
authors: Mikhail V
authors: MV
authors: Pashenkov
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015550:Cell Degranulation; D003602:Cytotoxicity, Immunologic / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D006561:Herpes Simplex / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D020014:K562 Cells / Q000276:immunology; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation / Q000276:immunology; D052118:Lysosomal-Associated Membrane Protein 1 / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D054353:Perforin / Q000378:metabolism; D012008:Recurrence; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D052118:Lysosomal-Associated Membrane Protein 1; D054353:Perforin