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Infection and Immunity, April 2005, p. 2288-2297, Vol. 73, No. 4
0019-9567/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/IAI.73.4.2288-2297.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

The Natural Killer Complex Regulates Severe Malarial Pathogenesis and Influences Acquired Immune Responses to Plasmodium berghei ANKA

The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Parkville, Victoria,¹ Immunology and Virology Program, Centre for Ophthalmology and Visual Science, University of Western Australia, and Centre for Experimental Immunology, Lions Eye Institute, Nedlands, Western Australia, Australia²

Received 20 August 2004/ Returned for modification 29 September 2004/ Accepted 22 November 2004

The natural killer complex (NKC) is a genetic region of highly linked genes encoding several receptors involved in the control of NK cell function. The NKC is highly polymorphic, and allelic variability of various NKC loci has been demonstrated in inbred mice. Making use of BALB.B6-Cmv1^r congenic mice, in which the NKC from disease-susceptible C57BL/6 mice has been introduced into the disease-resistant BALB/c background, we show here that during murine malaria infection, the NKC regulates a range of pathophysiological syndromes such as cerebral malaria, pulmonary edema, and severe anemia, which contribute to morbidity and mortality in human malaria. Parasitemia levels were not affected by the NKC genotype, indicating that control of malarial fatalities by the NKC cells does not operate through effects on parasite growth rate. Parasite-specific antibody responses and the proinflammatory gene transcription profile, as well as the TH1/TH2 balance, also appeared to be influenced by NKC genotype, providing evidence that this region, known to control innate immune responses via NK and/or NK T-cell activation, can also significantly regulate acquired immunity to infection. To date, NKC-encoded innate system receptors have been shown mainly to regulate viral infections. Our data provide evidence for critical NKC involvement in the broad immunological responses to a protozoan parasite.

Editor: W. A. Petri, Jr.

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