BACKGROUND Natural killer (NK) cells are the effector cells of innate immunity that respond to infection and tumor. Interactions between killer cell immunoglobulin like receptors (KIR) and human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I molecules regulate NK cells responses to eliminate infected and transformed cells. OBJECTIVE To investigate the impact of KIR genes, HLA ligand genes, and KIR-HLA combi...

PURPOSE The objective of this study was to explore whether killer immunoglobulin-like receptor (KIR) genotypes and haplotypes are associated with dry eye disease (DED) in a Han Chinese population. METHODS Polymerase chain reaction with sequence-specific primers (PCR-SSP) method was used to genotype KIR genes in 106 patients with DED and 220 healthy controls. RESULTS Twenty-three KIR genotyp...

MHC class I-specific inhibitory receptors are expressed by a subset of memory-phenotype CD8(+) T cells. Similar to NK cells, MHC class I-specific inhibitory receptors might subserve on T cells an important negative control that participates to the prevention of autologous damage. We analyzed here human CD8(+) T cells that express the Ig-like MHC class I-specific inhibitory receptors: killer cel...

Müller cell gliosis, which is characterized by upregulated expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), is a universal response in many retinal pathological conditions. Whether down-regulation of inward rectifying K+ (Kir) channels, which commonly accompanies the enhanced GFAP expression, could contribute to Müller cell gliosis is poorly understood. We investigated changes of Kir curre...

An inward rectifier potassium current, Kir, has been identified in cerebral and coronary resistance vessels, where it is considered to be an important determinant of resting membrane potential (RMP) and to play a role in blood flow regulation. We investigated the functional role of Kir in the renal afferent arteriole using the in vitro–perfused hydronephrotic rat kidney. Increasing external KCl...

We report the supramolecular organization of killer Ig-like receptor (KIR) phosphorylation using a technique applicable to imaging phosphorylation of any green fluorescent protein-tagged receptor at an intercellular contact or immune synapse. Specifically, we use fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM) to report Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) between GFP-tagged KIR2DL1 and a Cy3-tagged g...

Epistatic interactions between killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIRs) and their cognate HLA class I ligands have important implications for reproductive success, antiviral immunity, susceptibility to autoimmune conditions and cancer, as well as for graft-versus-leukemia reactions in settings of allogeneic stem cell transplantation. Although CD8 T cells are known to acquire KIRs when m...

Inwardly rectifying K+ channel subunits may form homomeric or heteromeric channels with distinct functional properties. Hyperpolarizing commands delivered to Xenopus oocytes expressing homomeric Kir 4.1 channels evoke inwardly rectifying K+ currents which activate rapidly and undergo a pronounced decay at more hyperpolarized potentials. In addition, Kir 4.1 subunits form heteromeric channels wh...

An inward rectifier potassium current, Kir, has been identified in cerebral and coronary resistance vessels, where it is considered to be an important determinant of resting membrane potential (RMP) and to play a role in blood flow regulation. We investigated the functional role of Kir in the renal afferent arteriole using the in vitro-perfused hydronephrotic rat kidney. Increasing external KCl...

Endothelium lines the interior surface of vascular walls and regulates vascular tones. The endothelial cells sense and respond to chemical and mechanical stimuli in the circulation, and couple the stimulus signals to vascular smooth muscles, in which inward rectifier K+ currents (Kir) play an important role. Here we applied several complementary strategies to determine the Kir subunit in primar...