(Public Library of Science, 2012) Hong, Henoch S.; Ahmad, Fareed; Eberhard, Johanna M.; Bhatnagar, Nupur; Bollmann, Benjamin A.; Keudel, Phillip; Ballmaier, Matthias; Zielinska-Skowronek, Margot; Schmidt, Reinhold E.; Meyer-Olson, Dirk
NK cells are pivotal sentinels of the innate immune system and distinct subpopulations in peripheral blood have been described. A number of studies addressed HIV-induced alterations of NK cell phenotype and functionality mainly focusing on (CD56^{dim}CD16^{+}) and (CD56^{-} CD16^{+}) NK cells. However, the impact of HIV-infection on (CD56^{bright}) NK cells is less well understood. Here we report a rise of (CD56^{bright}) NK cells in HIV-infected individuals, which lack CCR7-expression and strongly correlate with HIV viral load. (CCR7^{−} CD56^{bright}) NK cells were characterized by increased cytolytic potential, higher activation states and a more differentiated phenotype. These cells thus acquired a number of features of (CD56^{dim}CD16^{+}) NK cells. Furthermore, (CD56^{bright}) NK cells from HIV patients exhibited higher degranulation levels compared to uninfected individuals. Thus, chronic HIV-infection is associated with a phenotypic and functional shift of (CD56^{bright}) NK cells, which provides a novel aspect of HIV-associated pathogenesis within the NK cell compartment.
