Acquisition of Viral Receptor by NK Cells Through Immunological Synapse
Julie Tabiasco(Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Toulouse), Alain Vercellone(Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Toulouse), Fabienne Meggetto(Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Toulouse), Denis Hudrisier(Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Toulouse), Pierre Brousset(Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Toulouse), Jean‐Jacques Fournié(Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Toulouse)
Cited by 145Open Access
Abstract
Occasional EBV infection of human NK cells may lead to malignant diseases such as naso-pharyngeal NK lymphoma although NK cells do not express CD21, the primary receptor for EBV. Here we show that during early EBV infection in patients, NK cells attacked EBV-infected autologous B cells. In vitro, NK cells activated by conjugation to CD21(+) B-EBV cell targets transiently acquired a weak CD21(+) phenotype by synaptic transfer of few receptor molecules onto their own membrane. In the presence of viral particles, these ectopic receptors allowed EBV binding to the novel NK cell host. Hence, trans-synaptic acquisition of viral receptor from target cells might constitute an unsuspected mode of infection for otherwise unreachable lymphoid hosts.