Functional Alteration of Natural Killer Cells and Cytotoxic T Lymphocytes upon Asbestos Exposure and in Malignant Mesothelioma Patients

Figure 3

The characteristic decrease of NKp46 on NK cells shared by in vitro asbestos exposure and malignant mesothelioma patients. Peripheral blood NK cells in 7 patients with malignant mesothelioma showed decreased cell surface NKp46, but not NKG2D or 2B4, among activating receptors, compared with 10 healthy individuals, and it is interesting that this was also shown by NK cells in PBMCs cultured with asbestos. The relative alterations of expression level are shown.