INTERPLAY OF MAST CELLS AND NATURAL KILLER CELLS

Abstract

Mast cells (MCs) that are well known for their important effector function in IgE-associated immune responses play a key role in innate immune defences. Natural killer (NK) cells are important in innate immunity, first described as guardians for the detection and clearance of transformed of virus-infected cells. In this study, we investigate the interaction between MCs and NK cells. After analysing Gene Expression Microarray data of Anti-IgE stimulated Mast cells and K562 erythroleukemic tumour stimulated human NK cells, a pathway was designed through which natural killer cells may be activated by mast cells secreting different kinds of inflammatory cytokines such as IL-8, IL-2, TNF-alpha etc. In case of in-vitro condition we can activate both natural killer cells and mast cells by using synthetic ligands such as Pam3CSK4 which is recognized by TLR-2 present in both of the cells.