title: NKG2C deletion is a risk factor of HIV infection.
abstract: NK cell function is important in the immune response to HIV infection. NKG2C and NKG2A are activating and inhibitory NK cell receptors, respectively, and their only known ligand, HLA-E, demonstrates increased expression in HIV infection and presents at least one HIV-derived peptide. A variation in chromosome 12 exists in which the 16-kb section of DNA encompassing the nkg2c gene is completely absent. DNA samples of 433 HIV-1-infected patients and 280 controls were genotyped by PCR, and revealed an association of the absence variation with a higher risk of HIV infection, as well as faster progression and higher pretreatment viral loads (p<0.05, respectively). Surface NKG2C expression, analyzed by FACS, on the freshly isolated lymphocytes of 20 control and 19 HIV-infected donors revealed that NKG2C expression is genotype dependent in both populations: no NKG2C expression in the -/- groups, intermediate expression in the +/- groups, and highest expression in the +/+ groups. The comparison of NKG2C and NKG2A expression in HIV and control groups (+/- and +/+ included) indicates an increased NKG2C expression on HIV patient NK cells (p<0.05) and decreased inhibitory NKG2A expression on CD8 T cells (p<0.001), and both these effects are more striking in the +/+ genotype (p<0.005). Furthermore, a positive correlation was found between HIV viral load and the proportion of NKG2C(+) NK cells. The increased expression of NKG2C in HIV patients, in combination with the genetic association of the absence variation with an increased susceptibility to HIV infection, higher HIV viral set point, and a faster progression, indicate that NKG2C is important in the defense against HIV infection and progression.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology, Hannover Medical University, Hannover, Germany.
authors.forename: Rachel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.forename: Hui Zhi
authors.initials: HZ
authors.lastname: Low
authors.forename: Katja
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kniesch
authors.forename: Roland
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jacobs
authors.forename: Reinhold E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Schmidt
authors.forename: Torsten
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Witte
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002881:Chromosomes, Human, Pair 12; D005260:Female; D015870:Gene Expression; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D015497:HIV-1; D006801:Humans; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D055654:NK Cell Lectin-Like Receptor Subfamily C / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D012307:Risk Factors; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D017384:Sequence Deletion; D019562:Viral Load; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: C527059:KLRC2 protein, human; D055654:NK Cell Lectin-Like Receptor Subfamily C
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