Murine Cytomegalovirus Is Regulated by a Discrete Subset of Natural Killer Cells Reactive with Monoclonal Antibody to Ly49h

Daniels, Keith A.; Devora, Gene; Lai, Wayne C.; O'Donnell, Carey L.; Bennett, Michael; Welsh, Raymond M.

Accumulation of Ly49H ϩ Cells at Sites of MCMV Infection. Mice were inoculated intraperitoneally with MCMV and examined for the accumulation of NK cell subsets costaining with mAb 1F8. Fig. 3 A shows that MCMV induced a substantial increase in the number of NK1.1 ϩ CD3 Ϫ NK cells and that there was a substantial total number and proportional increase in the 1F8 ϩ NK cell subset in the liver and PECs at days 2 and 3 after infection. Fig. 3 B shows that a high proportion of the NK cells infiltrating the MCMV-infected liver by day 2 stained with mAb 1F8 but not 5E6, suggesting that this was indeed an infiltration by Ly49H ϩ cells. There also was a significant increase in 1F8 ϩ 5E6 ϩ cells, but it is not possible to determine whether these cells also coexpressed Ly49H.