Table 1.
Phenotype of circulating and tissue-resident CD56bright NK cells.
| Reference | Blood (13, 15, 17, 38) | Lymph node, spleen, marrow (13, 18) | Tonsil (18, 44) | Liver (15, 45, 46) | Uterus (16, 17, 20, 48, 49) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Definition | CD69+ CXCR6+ |
NKp44+ CD103+ |
CD69+ CXCR6+ |
CD49a+ CD103− |
CD49a+ CD103+ |
|
| CD56 | ++ | + | +/++ | + | +++ | +++ |
| CD69 | – | + | + | + | – | + |
| Cytokine receptors | ||||||
| CD117 (c-kit) | % | – | N.A. | N.A. | – | – |
| CD127 (IL7-Rα) | % | – | – | N.A. | – | – |
| Chemokine receptors | ||||||
| CCR7 | + | – | – | – | – | – |
| CCR5 | – | % | N.A. | % | – | – |
| CXCR6 | – | + | + | + | N.A. | N.A. |
| NK cell receptors | ||||||
| DNAM1 | + | % | % | % | –a | –a |
| KIR | – | – | % | – | % | % |
| NKp44 | – | – | + | – | – | % |
| NKp46 | + | ++ | ++ | ++ | + | + |
| Adhesion molecules | ||||||
| CD9 | – | N.A. | % | N.A. | % | + |
| CD49a (ITGα1) | – | – | + | – | + | + |
| CD62L (L-selectin) | + | – | – | – | – | – |
| CD103 (ITGαE) | – | – | + | N.A. | – | + |
| ITGβ7 | N.A. | N.A. | + | N.A. | – | + |
The cell surface markers which are discriminative for circulating CD56bright NK cells, lymph node-, spleen-, bone marrow-, tonsil-, liver-, and uterus-resident NK cells are summarized. Uterus-resident NK cells can be subdivided based on CD103 expression.
++ and +++ indicate relatively higher levels of expression.
% indicates that only a fraction of the NK cell population is positive for the marker.
aContradicting literature exist on the DNAM expression on uterine NK cells.
N.A., not assessed.