Analysis of memory-like natural killer cells in human cytomegalovirus-infected children undergoing αβ+T and B cell-depleted hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for hematological malignancies.

ABSTRACT: We analyzed the impact of human cytomegalovirus infection on the development of natural killer cells in 27 pediatric patients affected by hematological malignancies, who had received a HLA-haploidentical hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, depleted of both α/β+ T cells and B cells. In line with previous studies in adult recipients of umbilical cord blood transplantation, we found that human cytomegalovirus reactivation accelerated the emergence of mature natural killer cells. Thus, most children displayed a progressive expansion of a memory-like natural killer cell subset expressing NKG2C, a putative receptor for human cytomegalovirus, and CD57, a marker of terminal natural killer cell differentiation. NKG2C(+)CD57(+) natural killer cells were detectable by month 3 following hematopoi

SUBMITTER: Muccio L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4815729 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature