Negative Regulation of Schistosoma japonicum Egg-Induced Liver Fibrosis by Natural Killer Cells
Figure 6
NKG2D/RAE1 interaction is involved in the cytotoxicity of NK cells against activated HSCs.
(A, B) HSCs were isolated from S. japonicum-infected mice or uninfected mice. Expression of α-SMA (A) and various NKG2D ligands (B) on HSCs was detected by quantitative PCR. Values were normalized to β-actin in the same samples and expressed as fold change in comparison with the samples from uninfected controls (0 wk). Data were shown as mean ± SEM from three independent experiments. (C, D) NK cells isolated from S. japonicum-infected mice were used as effector cells. (C) HSCs isolated from normal mice (quiescent HSCs) or 8-week S. japonicum-infected mice (activated HSCs) were used as target cells. (D) HSCs isolated from 8-week S. japonicum-infected mice (activated HSCs) were used as target cells. A dose of 10 µg/mL anti-NKG2D (blocking) mAb was added in the coculture for the blockade. T/E, target-effector ratio.