Tonsillar CD56brightNKG2A+ NK cells restrict primary Epstein-Barr virus infection in B cells via IFN-γ.

ABSTRACT: Natural killer (NK) cells constitute the first line of defense against viruses and cancers cells. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) was the first human virus to be directly implicated in carcinogenesis, and EBV infection is associated with a broad spectrum of B cell lymphomas. How NK cells restrict EBV-associated oncogenesis is not understood. Here, we investigated the efficacies and mechanisms of distinct NK cell subsets from tonsils, the portal of entry of EBV, in limiting EBV infection in naïve, germinal center-associated and memory B cells. We found that CD56bright and NKG2A expression sufficiently characterizes the potent anti-EBV capacity of tonsillar NK cells. We observed restriction of EBV infection in B cells as early as 18 hours after infection. The restriction was most efficient in naïve

SUBMITTER: Jud A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5351618 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature