Practical NK cell phenotyping and variability in healthy adults.

Human natural killer (NK) cells display a wide array of surface and intracellular markers that indicate various states of differentiation and/or levels of effector function. These NK cell subsets exist simultaneously in peripheral blood and may vary among individuals. We examined variety among selected NK cell receptors expressed by NK cells from normal donors, as well as the distribution of select NK cell subsets and NK cell receptor expression over time in several individual donors.

Mutations in GATA2 cause human NK cell deficiency with specific loss of the CD56(bright) subset.

Mutations in the transcription factor GATA2 underlie the syndrome of monocytopenia and B- and natural killer (NK)-cell lymphopenia associated with opportunistic infections and cancers. In addition, patients have recurrent and severe viral infections. NK cells play a critical role in mediating antiviral immunity.

Collegiate-based emergency medical service: impact on alcohol-related emergency department transports at a small liberal arts college.

Objective: The authors examined the impact of a collegiate-based emergency medical service (CBEMS) on the frequency of emergency department (ED) transports.

Participants: Students transported to the ED for acute alcohol intoxication during the Fall 2008 and the Fall 2009 semesters (N = 50).

Methods: The frequency of students receiving transportation to a hospital ED and the reported blood alcohol content (BAC) levels during the initial operational semester of the CBEMS were compared to those values over the same time period the previous year.