The role of natural killer cells and activating receptors on natural killer cells in transplantation
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- Natural killer (NK) cells are an important component of the innate immune system. NK cells have cytotoxic and cytokine-producing abilities, and are known for their anti-tumor and anti-viral roles. On the other hand, the role of NK cells in solid organ transplantation is not clear. Our studies and others have shown that NK cells infiltrate allografts and NK cell depletion prevents graft rejection. We further described that NK cell depletion prevents tolerance induction in a rat liver transplant model of spontaneous tolerance. NK cell functions are determined by a balance of signals transmitted through their inhibitory and activating receptors. We showed that distinct NK activating receptors - NKp46, NKp30 and NKG2D, mediate NK cell interactions with dendritic cells (DC) and hepatoma tumor cells in vitro, presenting a way to perturb NK-DC interactions while retaining tumor responsiveness. Finally, initial experiments with NKG2D knockout mice showed that NKG2D deficiency combined with costimulation blockade prolongs allograft survival, suggesting that NKG2D inhibition may improve future costimulation blockade therapies. Importantly, current immunosuppressive drugs used to control graft rejection have differential effects on NK cell function. Thus understanding the interactions NK cells have with the graft and other immune cells in the context of transplantation is essential for improving transplantation therapeutics.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Form | electronic; electronic resource; remote |
| Extent | 1 online resource. |
| Publication date | 2010 |
| Issuance | monographic |
| Language | English |
Creators/Contributors
| Associated with | Wai, Lu-En |
|---|---|
| Associated with | Stanford University, Program in Immunology. |
| Primary advisor | Krams, Sheri Michele |
| Thesis advisor | Krams, Sheri Michele |
| Thesis advisor | Jones, Patricia |
| Thesis advisor | Negrin, Robert S |
| Thesis advisor | Parham, Peter, 1950- |
| Advisor | Jones, Patricia |
| Advisor | Negrin, Robert S |
| Advisor | Parham, Peter, 1950- |
Subjects
| Genre | Theses |
|---|
Bibliographic information
| Statement of responsibility | Lu-En Wai. |
|---|---|
| Note | Submitted to the Program in Immunology. |
| Thesis | Ph.D. Stanford University 2010 |
| Location | electronic resource |
Access conditions
- Copyright
- © 2010 by Lu-En Wai
- License
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-NC).
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