title: Reduced frequency of CD56 dim CD16 pos natural killer cells in pediatric systemic inflammatory response syndrome/sepsis patients.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Sepsis continues to be a leading cause of death in infants and children. Natural killer (NK) cells serve as a bridge between innate and adaptive immunity, yet their role in pediatric sepsis has not been well characterized.
  
  
  METHODS
  We tested the hypothesis that decreased NK cell cytotoxicity is a common feature of pediatric systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS)/sepsis patients by measuring, using flow cytometry, NK cell cytotoxicity and cell surface phenotype in the peripheral blood of 38 pediatric intensive care patients who demonstrated signs and symptoms of SIRS and/or sepsis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  NK cell cytotoxicity was significantly reduced in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of pediatric SIRS/sepsis patients as compared with healthy controls, and the percentage of CD56(dim) CD16(+) cytotoxic NK cells in PBMCs was lower in patients with SIRS/sepsis than in normal donors. However, on a per cell basis, CD56(dim) CD16(+) NK cells in patients mediated cytotoxicity as well as those in normal donors.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The NK cell dysfunction in pediatric SIRS/sepsis patients reflects a quantitative rather than a qualitative difference from healthy controls.
authors.affiliation: Division of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Penn State Hershey Children's Hospital, Hershey, Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: E Scott
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Halstead
authors.forename: Joseph A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Carcillo
authors.forename: Bastian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Schilling
authors.forename: Robert J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Greiner
authors.forename: Theresa L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Whiteside
mesh_terms: D019002:CD56 Antigen / Q000378:metabolism*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003601:Cytotoxicity Tests, Immunologic; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D058851:GPI-Linked Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D017452:Receptors, IgG / Q000378:metabolism*; D018746:Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology
chemical_list: D019002:CD56 Antigen; C428200:FCGR3B protein, human; D058851:GPI-Linked Proteins; C522918:NCAM1 protein, human; D017452:Receptors, IgG