Journal
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY
Volume 36, Issue 12, Pages 3277-3287Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1002/eji.200635927
Keywords
cytotoxicity; NK cells; phospholipase C; T cells
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We recently reported evidence of phosphatidylcholine-specific phospholipase C (PCPLC) involvement in NK cell-mediated cytotoxicity and in lytic granule exocytosis. In the present study, different subpopulations of human PBL were investigated in relation to PC-PLC enzyme expression. While a substantial intracellular amount of PC-PLC was detected in all lymphoid subsets, expression of this enzyme on the outer membrane surface reached high levels only in NK cells, was present at low levels in B lymphocytes and in some TCR gamma/delta T cells and was practically absent in CD4(+) and CD8(+) T lymphocytes. Moreover, in NK cells two different subpopulations were identified, CD56(dim) PC-PLCbright and CD56(bright) PC-PLC(low/-)cells, corresponding to distinct subsets with cytolytic and immunoregulatory functions, respectively. Interestingly, the PC-PLC expression level on the NK membrane surface correlated closely with that of the CD16 receptor, suggesting a possible relationship between enzyme externalization and NK cell maturation. In summary, our results suggest that a high PC-PLC expression on the cell membrane surface of PBL is a peculiarity of NK cytolytic cells, in which the enzyme is apparently involved in the ability of this subset to lyse sensitive target cells.
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