Natural killer cells in first-episode psychosis: an innate immune signature?

Accumulating evidence majorly implicates immune dysfunction in the etiology of psychotic disorders. In particular, altered numbers and functions of natural killer (NK) cells have been described in psychosis, but interpretation has often been confounded by a number of biases, including treatment. Eighty-one first-episode psychosis (FEP) patients who subsequently received a diagnosis of either schizophrenia (SZ; n = 30) or bipolar disorder (BP; n = 31) over a five-year follow-up period were investigated for their NK cell phenotype and compared to 61 healthy controls (HCs).

Control of Acute Arboviral Infection by Natural Killer Cells.

The recent explosive pandemic of chikungunya virus (CHIKV) followed by Zika (ZIKV) virus infections occurring throughout many countries represents the most unexpected arrival of arthropod-borne viral diseases in the past 20 years. Transmitted through the bite of mosquitoes, the clinical picture associated with these acute arbovirus infections, including Dengue (DENV), CHIKV and ZIKV, ranges from classical febrile illness to life-threatening disease. Whereas ZIKV and CHIKV-mediated infections have previously been recognized as relatively benign diseases, in contrast to Dengue fever, recent epidemic events have brought waves of increased morbidity and mortality leading to a serious public health problem.