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Biological effects of cyclosporin A on CD3−CD161+ and CD3+CD161+ lymphocytes

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Abstract

Cyclosporin A (CSA) is a widely used drug to prevent the immune cell function. It is well known that CSA blocks transcription of cytokine genes in activated T cells. The connection between T cells and CSA has been well established. However, the effect of CSA on natural killer (NK) cells is not thoroughly understood. Therefore, in the present study, splenocytes and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were treated with CSA in the presence of concanavalin A (Con A) or interleukin-2 (IL-2). CSA at higher concentrations induces apoptosis and inhibition of proliferation, while lower concentrations showed synergistically enhanced proliferation in splenocytes and PBMCs. Further, CSA favored the in vitro conversion of CD3+CD161+ cells. Splenocytes and PBMC were found to have synergistic proliferation with Con A, and PBMC exhibited significantly higher expression of NKp30, NKp44, and granzyme B along with enhanced cytotoxicity against K-562 cells in CSA-treated animals. Proliferation assay also showed that proliferation of CD161+ cells was higher in CSA-treated animals. Collectively, our results suggest that CSA differentially influences the population, function, and expression of the NK cell phenotype.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education (2017R1D1A3B03029075).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Veterinary Medicine, Biosafety Research Institute, Chonbuk National University, Iksan, Jeollabuk-Do, Republic of Korea

    Aravinthan Adithan, Judith Sharmila John Peter, Mohammad Amjad Hossain, Chang-Won Kang, Bumseok Kim, Nam Soo Kim & Jong-Hoon Kim

  2. Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, Catholic Kwandong University, Gangneung, Republic of Korea

    Ki-Chul Hwang

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  1. Aravinthan Adithan
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  2. Judith Sharmila John Peter
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Correspondence to Jong-Hoon Kim.

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Adithan, A., John Peter, J.S., Hossain, M.A. et al. Biological effects of cyclosporin A on CD3−CD161+ and CD3+CD161+ lymphocytes. Mol Cell Biochem 458, 159–169 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11010-019-03539-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11010-019-03539-2

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