HLA-Cw*0102-Restricted HIV-1 p24 Epitope Variants Can Modulate the Binding of the Inhibitory KIR2DL2 Receptor and Primary NK Cell Function
Figure 3
p24 Gag209–218/HLA-Cw*0102 complexes on T2 cells lead to functional inhibition of primary KIR2DL2(+) NK cells.
(A) Representative histograms of degranulation of KIR2DL2(−) (left panel) and KIR2DL2(+) (right panel) NK cells after co-incubation with peptide-pulsed T2 cells (tinted and black) or without target cells (clear). NK cell degranulation was measured flow cytometrically by surface expression of CD107a. (B) Different levels of NK cell degranulation between KIR2DL2(−) (dark grey) and KIR2DL2(+) (light grey) NK cells after co-incubation with peptide-pulsed T2 cells. Each column represents mean±SEM percentage of CD107a(+) NK cells of 5 of different individuals. Unspecific degranulation of NK cells measured without target cells was deducted from each column.