Poorly cytotoxic terminally differentiated CD56negCD16pos NK cells accumulate in Kenyan children with Burkitt lymphomas.

ABSTRACT: Natural killer (NK) cells are critical for restricting viral infections and mediating tumor immunosurveillance. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and Plasmodium falciparum malaria are known risk factors for endemic Burkitt lymphoma (eBL), the most common childhood cancer in equatorial Africa. To date, the composition and function of NK cells have not been evaluated in eBL etiology or pathogenesis. Therefore, using multiparameter flow cytometry and in vitro killing assays, we compared NK cells from healthy children and children diagnosed with eBL in Kenya. We defined 5 subsets based on CD56 and CD16 expression, including CD56negCD16pos We found that licensed and terminally differentiated perforin-expressing CD56negCD16pos NK cells accumulated in eBL children, particularly in those with high EBV load

SUBMITTER: Forconi CS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5965049 | biostudies-literature | 2018 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature