Interaction of a dengue virus NS1-derived peptide with the inhibitory receptor KIR3DL1 on natural killer cells.

Killer immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIRs) interact with human leucocyte antigen (HLA) class I ligands and play a key role in the regulation and activation of NK cells. The functional importance of KIR-HLA interactions has been demonstrated for a number of chronic viral infections, but to date only a few studies have been performed in the context of acute self-limited viral infections. During our investigation of CD8(+) T cell responses to a conserved HLA-B57-restricted epitope derived from dengue virus (DENV) non-structural protein-1 (NS1), we observed substantial binding of the tetrameric complex to non-T/non-B lymphocytes in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from a long-standing clinical cohort in Thailand. We confirmed binding of the NS1 tetramer to CD56(dim) NK cells, which are known to express KIRs. Using depletion studies and KIR-transfected cell lines, we demonstrated further that the NS1 tetramer bound the inhibitory receptor KIR3DL1. Phenotypical analysis of PBMC from HLA-B57(+) subjects with acute DENV infection revealed marked activation of NS1 tetramer-binding natural killer (NK) cells around the time of defervescence in subjects with severe dengue disease. Collectively, our findings indicate that subsets of NK cells are activated relatively late in the course of acute DENV illness and reveal a possible role for specific KIR-HLA interactions in the modulation of disease outcomes.

Correlations between watershed and reservoir characteristics, and algal blooms in subtropical reservoirs.

This study examined the correlations between watershed and reservoir characteristics, and water quality parameters related to algal blooms in seven subtropical reservoirs. Analysis of the dissimilarity of physico-chemical parameters resulted in separation of the reservoirs into three main groups: four reservoirs with the highest proportion of agriculture and/or urban land use in their watersheds; two reservoirs with a high proportion of forest cover; and one small reservoir with a relatively pristine watershed intermediate between the other two groups. All reservoirs were dominated by cyanobacteria, and at times, had species capable of producing toxins. However, the three reservoirs with the lowest percentage forest cover ( approximately 50%) had the highest frequency and magnitude of toxic species, principally Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii. Analysis of dissimilarity of algal species composition resulted in three reservoir groups similar to that for the physico-chemical parameters, with the exception of the reservoir with the highest percentage urban land use being an outlier. Across all reservoirs, percentage forest cover in the watershed, watershed area and reservoir volume were all significantly correlated with algal cell concentrations and total nitrogen (TN), but not with chlorophyll a concentrations. Total phosphorus (TP) was only correlated with the proportion forest cover in the watershed, suggesting that reservoir volume and depth were of less importance for TP than for algal cell concentrations or TN. These results suggest that watershed pattern and reservoir characteristics, such as water volume and depth, have a measurable effect on the type of algal blooms in reservoirs.