TY - JOUR
T1 - Cutting edge
T2 - Role of macrophage migration inhibitory factor in inhibiting NK cell activity and preserving immune privilege
AU - Apte, R. S.
AU - Sinha, D.
AU - Mayhew, E.
AU - Wistow, G. J.
AU - Niederkorn, J. Y.
PY - 1998/6/15
Y1 - 1998/6/15
N2 - The absence of MHC class I Ags on the corneal endothelium, which lines the anterior chamber of the eye, makes this cell layer potentially vulnerable to lysis by NK cells. However, aqueous humor (AH), which bathes the corneal endothelium, contains a 12-kDa protein which inhibits the NK-mediated lysis of corneal endothelial cells. An amino acid sequence analysis of AH revealed that this factor shared >90% homology with macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF). The NK inhibitory effect of AH was neutralized with anti-human MIF Ab. Moreover, mouse rMIF produced a similar inhibition of NK cell activity. However, neither rMIF nor AH inhibited the CTL-mediated lysis of allogeneic cells. rMIF prevented the release of perforin granules by NK cells but not CTLs. Although MIF displays proinflammatory properties, these results indicate that it can also inhibit at least one immune effector element, NK cells, and thereby contribute to immune privilege in the eye.
AB - The absence of MHC class I Ags on the corneal endothelium, which lines the anterior chamber of the eye, makes this cell layer potentially vulnerable to lysis by NK cells. However, aqueous humor (AH), which bathes the corneal endothelium, contains a 12-kDa protein which inhibits the NK-mediated lysis of corneal endothelial cells. An amino acid sequence analysis of AH revealed that this factor shared >90% homology with macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF). The NK inhibitory effect of AH was neutralized with anti-human MIF Ab. Moreover, mouse rMIF produced a similar inhibition of NK cell activity. However, neither rMIF nor AH inhibited the CTL-mediated lysis of allogeneic cells. rMIF prevented the release of perforin granules by NK cells but not CTLs. Although MIF displays proinflammatory properties, these results indicate that it can also inhibit at least one immune effector element, NK cells, and thereby contribute to immune privilege in the eye.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0032526635&partnerID=8YFLogxK
M3 - Article
C2 - 9637476
AN - SCOPUS:0032526635
SN - 0022-1767
VL - 160
SP - 5693
EP - 5696
JO - Journal of Immunology
JF - Journal of Immunology
IS - 12
ER -