AUTHOR=Yoshida Tomoyuki , Saito Akatsuki , Iwasaki Yuki , Iijima Sayuki , Kurosawa Terue , Katakai Yuko , Yasutomi Yasuhiro , Reimann Keith A., Hayakawa Toshiyuki , Akari Hirofumi 

TITLE=Characterization of Natural Killer Cells in Tamarins: A Technical Basis for Studies of Innate Immunity

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=1

YEAR=2010

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2010.00128

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2010.00128

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p>Natural killer (NK) cells are capable of regulating viral infection without major histocompatibility complex restriction. Hepatitis C is caused by chronic infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV), and impaired activity of NK cells may contribute to the control of the disease progression, although the involvement of NK cells <italic>in vivo</italic> remains to be proven. GB virus B (GBV-B), which is genetically most closely related to HCV, induces acute and chronic hepatitis upon experimental infection of tamarins. This non-human primate model seems likely to be useful for unveiling the roles of NK cells <italic>in vivo</italic>. Here we characterized the biological phenotypes of NK cells in tamarins and found that depletion of the CD16+ subset <italic>in vivo</italic> by administration of a monoclonal antibody significantly reduced the number and activity of NK cells.</p>