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Frequency of blood CX 3 CR1‐positive natural killer cells correlates with disease activity in multiple sclerosis patients
Author(s) -
InfanteDuarte Carmen,
Weber Alexandra,
Krätzschmar Jörn,
Prozorovski Timour,
Pikol Susan,
Hamann Isabell,
BellmannStrobl Judith,
Aktas Orhan,
Dörr Jan,
Wuerfel Jens,
Stürzebecher ClausSteffen,
Zipp Frauke
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fj.05-3832fje
Subject(s) - cx3cr1 , multiple sclerosis , immunology , peripheral blood mononuclear cell , chemokine , disease , flow cytometry , medicine , biology , chemokine receptor , pathology , inflammation , biochemistry , in vitro
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease of the central nervous system (CNS) characterized by enormous variability in its clinical presentation and course, and for which clear diagnostic parameters are lacking. Here we performed an RNA screen in peripheral mononuclear cells from relapsing‐remitting (RR) and primary progressive (PP) MS patients compared with healthy donors (HD) that indicated, among other findings, a role for the chemokine receptor CX 3 CR1 as a diagnostic marker. Gene expression and flow cytometric analyses demonstrated a significantly lower expression of CX 3 CR1 in MS patients compared with healthy individuals. The subpopulation of cells responsible for causing this reduced expression of CX 3 CR1 consisted exclusively of natural killer (NK) cells. Importantly, we found a correlation between disease activity and frequency of CX 3 CR1‐positive NK cells in RRMS patients. These findings emphasize the role of NK cells in the development and course of MS and provide evidence for CX 3 CR1 expression as a marker for MS patients and disease activity.