Published online before print October 10, 2008

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(Journal of Leukocyte Biology. 2009;85:88-97.)
© 2009 by Society for Leukocyte Biology

The cytolytic enzymes granyzme A, granzyme B, and perforin: expression patterns, cell distribution, and their relationship to cell maturity and bright CD57 expression

Pratip K. Chattopadhyay^*, Michael R. Betts, David A. Price, Emma Gostick, Helen Horton, Mario Roederer^* and Stephen C. De Rosa^||,¶,**,1

^* ImmunoTechnology Section, Laboratory of Immunology, Vaccine Research Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA;
Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA;
Medical Biochemistry and Immunology, Cardiff University School of Medicine, Cardiff, United Kingdom;
Seattle Biomedical Research Institute, Seattle, Washington, USA;
^|| Vaccine and Infectious Diseases Institute and
^¶ HIV Vaccine Trials Network Laboratory Program, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington, USA; and
^** Department of Laboratory Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Washington, USA

¹ Correspondence: Vaccine and Infectious Diseases Institute and HIV Vaccine Trials Network Laboratory Program, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, 1100 Fairview Ave. N., LE-200, Seattle, WA 98109, USA. E-mail: sderosa{at}fhcrc.org

ABSTRACT

Cytolytic enzymes (CEs) are critical mediators of anti-viral and -tumor immunity; however, as a number of molecules belong to this enzyme family, our understanding of CEs remains limited. Specifically, it remains unclear what combinations of granzymes and perforin (Perf) are expressed by various immune cells and how CE content relates to cellular differentiation. Using polychromatic flow cytometry, we simultaneously measured expression of the most common human CEs [granzyme A (gA), granzyme B (gB), and Perf] alongside markers of β and T cell maturation (CD45RO, CCR7, CD27, CD57). Additionally, we measured CE content in NK cell subsets (defined by their expression of CD16 and CD56). We found that among a wide variety of immune cells, CE content was linked to cellular maturity. Moreover, common expression patterns were shared across cell types, such that gB+ cells always contained gA, and Perf+ cells were primarily gA+ gB+. Most importantly, CD57 expression correlated strongly with simultaneous expression of gA, gB, and Perf. Thus, the use of CD57 provides a means to easily isolate viable cells with high cytolytic potential, without the need for lethal fixation/permeabilization techniques.

Key Words: cytotoxicity • differentiation • CTL • NK cells

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