Descripción del proyecto
DEFENSE AGAINST HUMAN CYTOMEGALOVIRUS (HCVM), A COMMON INFECTIOUS ORGANISM, INVOLVES DIFFERENT COMPONENTS OF THE IMMUNE SYSTEM, INCLUDING BOTH INNATE IMMUNITY AND ADAPTIVE RESPONSES MEDIATED BY T- AND B-LYMPHOCYTES, SEMINAL WORK BY THE PROPOSAL COORDINATORS GROUP REVEALED IN 2004 THAT INFECTED HEALTHY INDIVIDUALS CAN MOUNT AS WELL READILY DISCERNIBLE AND HCMV-SPECIFIC NK CELL-MEDIATED RESPONSES, LATER SHOWN TO COOPERATE WITH/SUBSTITUTE FOR T-CELLS IN VIRUS CONTROL, NK CELLS THAT DIFFERENTIATE OR EXPAND IN RESPONSE TO HCMV ARE DISTINGUISHED BY HIGH EXPRESSION OF A CLONALLY DISTRIBUTED ACTIVATING RECEPTOR FOR HLA-E, CD94/NKG2C; BY LACK OF ITS INHIBITORY COUNTERPART CD94/NKG2A; AND BY ADDITIONAL PHENOTYPIC AND FUNCTIONAL TRAITS, HCMV-ADAPTIVE OR IMPRINTED (NKG2C+ NKG2A) NK CELLS OFTEN UNDERGO FURTHER EXPANSION IN TRANSPLANTED PATIENTS, POSSIBLY OWING TO HCMV REACTIVATIONS ELICITED BY IMMUNOSUPPRESSION, MOREOVER, RECENT RESULTS INDICATE THAT PRETRANSPLANT LEVELS OF NKGC+ NKGA NK CELLS MIGHT BECOME A CLINICALLY USEFUL BIOMARKER FOR LOWER RISK OF POSTTRANSPLANT HMCV DISEASE, THE MECHANISMS LEADING TO ADAPTIVE NK-CELL DIFFERENTIATION/EXPANSION ARE LARGELY UNKNOWN, FURTHERMORE, FOR ILL-DEFINED REASONS, NOT EVERY HCMV-INFECTED PERSON HAS DETECTABLE AMOUNTS OF THOSE CELLS, AND THEIR PROPORTIONS VARY ENORMOUSLY IN DIFFERENT HEALTHY INDIVIDUALS, WE HAVE OBTAINED DIFFERENT LEVELS OF EVIDENCE THAT POLYMORPHISMS IN SEVERAL GENES CONTROLLING CELLULAR RESPONSES AGAINST HCMV ASSOCIATE WITH NKG2C+ NKG2A NK CELL NUMBERS IN HEALTHY INDIVIDUALS, IN THE CURRENT PROPOSAL, WE AIM TO EXPLORE MECHANISMS BY WHICH THOSE POLYMORPHISMS MIGHT MODULATE ADAPTIVE NK-CELL RESPONSE, TO CONFIRM SOME OF THE ASSOCIATIONS, AND TO ASSESS WHETHER THEY ARE ALSO OBSERVED IN KIDNEY TRANSPLANT RECIPIENTS/CANDIDATES, POSSIBLY BECOMING SURROGATE BIOMARKERS OF ADAPTIVE NK CELLS IN PREDICTION OF THE RISK OF POSTTRANSPLANT HCMV INFECTION/DISEASE, CELULAS NK\CITOMEGALOVIRS\GENES\INMUNOGENETICA\POLIMORFISMO\RECEPTORES