Publications by authors named "Sarah Vollmers"
Article Synopsis
- NK cells are crucial for fighting viral infections and use a variety of receptors, with HLA-C being the main ligand for Killer-cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIRs), influencing NK cell activity.
- The study shows that HIV-1 can evade the immune response by adapting to host genetics, particularly through the Vpu protein that downregulates HLA-C, which helps the virus escape detection by NK cells.
- Researchers found that HIV-1 infection leads to changes in the NK cell receptor profile, including an increase in specific NK cell populations and a genotype-dependent expansion of KIR2DL1, indicating a complex relationship between the immune response and HIV-1 evolution.
NK cells utilize a large array of receptors to screen their surroundings for aberrant or virus-infected cells. Given the vast diversity of receptors expressed on NK cells we seek to identify receptors involved in the recognition of HIV-1-infected cells. By combining an unbiased large-scale screening approach with a functional assay, we identify TRAIL to be associated with NK cell degranulation against HIV-1-infected target cells.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAntiviral NK cell activity is regulated through the interaction of activating and inhibitory NK cell receptors with their ligands on infected cells. HLA class I molecules serve as ligands for most killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIRs), but no HLA class I ligands for the inhibitory NK cell receptor KIR2DL5 have been identified to date. Using a NK cell receptor/ligand screening approach, we observed no strong binding of KIR2DL5 to HLA class I or class II molecules, but confirmed that KIR2DL5 binds to the poliovirus receptor (PVR, CD155).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- The human leukocyte antigen (HLA) system is a group of diverse genes vital for immune function and linked to many diseases.
- HLA class I molecules, including the recently evolved HLA-C, present proteins to immune cells, influencing immune tolerance or responses during infections.
- HLA-C specifically interacts with killer-cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIR) on natural killer (NK) cells, which play a key role in fighting viral infections, highlighting HLA-C's importance in immune regulation.
NK cells are phenotypically and functionally diverse lymphocytes due to variegated expression of a large array of receptors. NK-cell activity is tightly regulated through integration of receptor-derived inhibitory and activating signals. Thus, the receptor profile of each NK cell ultimately determines its ability to sense aberrant cells and subsequently mediate anti-viral or anti-tumor responses.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP4, CD26) is a serine protease detected on several immune cells and on epithelial cells of various organs. Besides the membrane-bound enzyme, a catalytically active soluble form (sCD26/DPP4) is detected in several body fluids. Both variants cleave off dipeptides from the N-termini of various chemokines, neuropeptides, and hormones.
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