HIV-1-Specific T Cell-Dependent Natural Killer (NK) Cell Activation: Major Contribution by NK Cells to Interferon-γ Production in Response to HIV-1 Antigens.

AbstractNatural killer (NK) cells can directly recognize virus-infected cells. Here, we demonstrate that NK cells also produce interferon (IFN)-γ in an HIV-1-specific, T cell-dependent manner. After stimulation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from HIV-1-infected individuals with HIV-1-derived peptides, up to half of the IFN-γ-producing PBMCs are NK cells. These results indicate that T cell-dependent NK cell IFN-γ production can be important for immune control of HIV-1, and have implications for the interpretation of data from vaccine trials using ELISPOT and ELISA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]