Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Clinical and Experimental Immunology logoLink to Clinical and Experimental Immunology
. 1987 Apr;68(1):23–32.

Natural killer cells in viral arthritis.

J G Aaskov 1, D A Dalglish 1, J J Harper 1, J F Douglas 1, M D Donaldson 1, P J Hertzog 1
PMCID: PMC1542679  PMID: 2443284

Abstract

Changes in natural killer (NK) cell activity were studied in patients with polyarthritis associated with rubella or Ross River virus infections. In 30 of 32 Ross River virus patients, peripheral NK cell activity was depressed at some stage of the disease but returned to normal levels as patients recovered from arthritic symptoms. Similar changes did not occur in rubella patients and no difference was found between changes in peripheral NK activity and serum interferon (IFN) levels in rubella patients with arthritis and those without. Neither the peak of NK cell activity in peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) recovered early in Ross River virus and rubella infections, nor the depression of NK cell activity late in Ross River virus infections could be correlated with changes in serum IFN levels. The decrease in PBL-NK cell activity in epidemic polyarthritis (EPA) patients could not be attributed solely to loss of NK cells from the peripheral circulation because limiting-cell-dilution (LCD) analyses indicated changes in peripheral NK cell activity were due to changes in both the number and lytic activity of NK cells. Despite the association between HLA-DR7 and EPA no differences were found in levels of peripheral NK cell activity in DR7+ and DR7- EPA patients. The demonstration that peripheral NK cells could kill autologous synovial cells suggested that NK cells in joints of EPA patients may contribute to the arthritis associated with Ross River virus infection.

Full text

PDF
23

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Aaskov J. G., Fraser J. R., Dalglish D. A. Specific and non-specific immunological changes in epidemic polyarthritis patients. Aust J Exp Biol Med Sci. 1981 Oct;59(Pt 5):599–608. doi: 10.1038/icb.1981.52. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Aaskov J. G., Mataika J. U., Lawrence G. W., Rabukawaqa V., Tucker M. M., Miles J. A., Dalglish D. A. An epidemic of Ross River virus infection in Fiji, 1979. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 1981 Sep;30(5):1053–1059. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.1981.30.1053. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Abo T., Balch C. M. Characterization of HNK-1+ (Leu-7) human lymphocytes. II. Distinguishing phenotypic and functional properties of natural killer cells from activated NK-like cells. J Immunol. 1982 Oct;129(4):1758–1761. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Claësson M. H., Olsson L. Autoreactive natural killer-like cells from agar-cloned murine bone marrow cells. Nature. 1980 Feb 7;283(5747):578–580. doi: 10.1038/283578a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Fraser J. R., Cunningham A. L., Clarris B. J., Aaskov J. G., Leach R. Cytology of synovial effusions in epidemic polyarthritis. Aust N Z J Med. 1981 Apr;11(2):168–173. doi: 10.1111/j.1445-5994.1981.tb04226.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Hansson M., Kiessling R., Andersson B. Human fetal thymus and bone marrow contain target cells for natural killer cells. Eur J Immunol. 1981 Jan;11(1):8–12. doi: 10.1002/eji.1830110103. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Hazelton R. A., Hughes C., Aaskov J. G. The inflammatory response in the synovium of a patient with Ross River arbovirus infection. Aust N Z J Med. 1985 Jun;15(3):336–339. doi: 10.1111/j.1445-5994.1985.tb04048.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Highton J., Panayi G. S. Spontaneous cytotoxicity of rheumatoid and normal peripheral blood mononuclear cells against 4 human lymphoblastoid cell lines. Ann Rheum Dis. 1980 Dec;39(6):559–562. doi: 10.1136/ard.39.6.559. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Hyer F. H., Gottlieb N. L. Rheumatic disorders associated with viral infection. Semin Arthritis Rheum. 1978 Aug;8(1):17–31. doi: 10.1016/0049-0172(78)90032-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Levin S., Hahn T. Evaluation of the human interferon system in viral disease. Clin Exp Immunol. 1981 Dec;46(3):475–483. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Levis S. C., Saavedra M. C., Ceccoli C., Falcoff E., Feuillade M. R., Enria D. A., Maiztegui J. I., Falcoff R. Endogenous interferon in Argentine hemorrhagic fever. J Infect Dis. 1984 Mar;149(3):428–433. doi: 10.1093/infdis/149.3.428. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Lindahl K. F., Wilson D. B. Histocompatibility antigen-activated cytotoxic T lymphocytes. I. Estimates of the absolute frequency of killer cells generated in vitro. J Exp Med. 1977 Mar 1;145(3):500–507. doi: 10.1084/jem.145.3.500. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Maluish A. E., Ortaldo J. R., Conlon J. C., Sherwin S. A., Leavitt R., Strong D. M., Weirnik P., Oldham R. K., Herberman R. B. Depression of natural killer cytotoxicity after in vivo administration of recombinant leukocyte interferon. J Immunol. 1983 Jul;131(1):503–507. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Mudge P. R., Aaskov J. G. Epidemic polyarthritis in Australia, 1980-1981. Med J Aust. 1983 Sep 17;2(6):269–273. doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.1983.tb122461.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Oshimi K., Oshimi Y., Satake M., Mizoguchi H. Natural killer-mediated lysis of normal and malignant target cells, and its regulation by monocytes. J Exp Med. 1985 Aug 1;162(2):472–486. doi: 10.1084/jem.162.2.472. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Rosen L., Gubler D. J., Bennett P. H. Epidemic polyarthritis (Ross River) virus infection in the Cook Islands. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 1981 Nov;30(6):1294–1302. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.1981.30.1294. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Saksela E., Timonen T., Cantell K. Human natural killer cell activity is augmented by interferon via recruitment of 'pre-NK' cells. Scand J Immunol. 1979;10(3):257–266. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-3083.1979.tb01348.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Tesh R. B., McLean R. G., Shroyer D. A., Calisher C. H., Rosen L. Ross River virus (Togaviridae: Alphavirus) infection (epidemic polyarthritis) in American Samoa. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 1981;75(3):426–431. doi: 10.1016/0035-9203(81)90112-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Timonen T., Ortaldo J. R., Herberman R. B. Characteristics of human large granular lymphocytes and relationship to natural killer and K cells. J Exp Med. 1981 Mar 1;153(3):569–582. doi: 10.1084/jem.153.3.569. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Ullberg M., Merrill J., Jondal M. Interferon-induced NK augmentation in humans. An analysis of target recognition, effector cell recruitment and effector cell recycling. Scand J Immunol. 1981 Sep;14(3):285–292. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-3083.1981.tb00566.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Clinical and Experimental Immunology are provided here courtesy of British Society for Immunology

RESOURCES