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Review
. 2018 Mar 14;154(4):547-556.
doi: 10.1111/imm.12925. Online ahead of print.

Innate-like CD8+ T-cells and NK cells: converging functions and phenotypes

Ayako Kurioka  1   2 , Paul Klenerman  1   2 , Christian B Willberg  1   2
Affiliations
Review

Innate-like CD8+ T-cells and NK cells: converging functions and phenotypes

Ayako Kurioka et al. Immunology. .

Abstract

New data in the worlds of both innate-like CD8+ T-cells and natural killer (NK) cells have, in parallel, clarified some of the phenotypes of these cells and also their associated functions. While these cells are typically viewed entirely separately, the emerging innate functions of T-cells and, similarly, the adaptive functions of NK cells suggest that many behaviours can be considered in parallel. In this review we compare the innate functions of CD8+ T-cells (especially mucosal-associated invariant T-cells) and those of NK cells, and how these relate to expression of phenotypic markers, especially CD161 and CD56.

Keywords: CD8+ T-cell; NK cell; innate-like T-cell; mucosal-associated invariant T-cell.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Shared phenotypic similarities between subsets of CD8+ T‐cells and natural killer (NK) cells. (a) Representative flow cytometry staining showing expression of various markers against CD161 expression on CD8+ T‐cells (left), or against CD56 expression on NK cells (right). Each panel shows the expression of the indicated marker within the same healthy donor, gated on CD8+ T‐cells or NK cells. (b) Frequencies of cells expressing the indicated marker within the CD161++, CD161+ and CD161‐ CD8+ T‐cells (red), within the CD56bright (CD56++) and CD56dim (CD56+) NK cells (blue), in 8–14 healthy individuals. ****P < 0·0001, ***P < 0·001, **P < 0·01, *P < 0·05 by repeated‐measures one‐way anova with Tukey's multiple comparisons test. All other comparisons were non‐significant.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Model highlighting functional similarities between CD8+ T‐cell and natural killer (NK) cell subsets. The ability to respond to cytokines by secreting IFN © and proliferating inversely correlates with cytoxic potential at rest and responsiveness to activating receptor ligation in both CD8+ T‐cells and NK cells. The markers and transcription factors correlated with these functional properties are highlighted (top). ‘Adaptive’ CD56dim = terminally differentiated CD56dim NK cells. Bright/dim indicate expression levels, + and − signs indicate whether the population is mostly positive or negative for the marker indicated. Both ‘bright’ populations are also enriched in tissues and inflammatory sites where they may be activated by cytokines.
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