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Agnello L, Masucci A, Tamburello M, Vassallo R, Massa D, Giglio RV, Midiri M, Gambino CM, Ciaccio M. The Role of Killer Ig-like Receptors in Diseases from A to Z. Int J Mol Sci 2025; 26:3242. [PMID: 40244151 PMCID: PMC11989319 DOI: 10.3390/ijms26073242] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2025] [Revised: 03/26/2025] [Accepted: 03/29/2025] [Indexed: 04/18/2025] Open
Abstract
Killer Ig-like Receptors (KIRs) regulate immune responses, maintaining the balance between activation and inhibition of the immune system. KIRs are expressed on natural killer cells and some CD8 T cells and interact with HLA class I molecules, influencing various physiological and pathological processes. KIRs' polymorphism creates a variability in immune responses among individuals. KIRs are involved in autoimmune disorders, cancer, infections, neurological diseases, and other diseases. Specific combinations of KIRs and HLA are linked to several diseases' susceptibility, progression, and outcomes. In particular, the balance between inhibitory and activating KIRs can determine how the immune system responds to pathogens and tumors. An imbalance can lead to an excessive response, contributing to autoimmune diseases, or an inadequate response, allowing immune evasion by pathogens or cancer cells. The increasing number of studies on KIRs highlights their essential role as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers and potential therapeutic targets. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the role of KIRs in all clinical conditions and diseases, listed alphabetically, where they are analyzed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luisa Agnello
- Institute of Clinical Biochemistry, Clinical Molecular Medicine, and Clinical Laboratory Medicine, Department of Biomedicine, Neurosciences and Advanced Diagnostics, University of Palermo, 90133 Palermo, Italy; (L.A.); (A.M.); (M.T.); (R.V.); (D.M.); (R.V.G.); (C.M.G.)
| | - Anna Masucci
- Institute of Clinical Biochemistry, Clinical Molecular Medicine, and Clinical Laboratory Medicine, Department of Biomedicine, Neurosciences and Advanced Diagnostics, University of Palermo, 90133 Palermo, Italy; (L.A.); (A.M.); (M.T.); (R.V.); (D.M.); (R.V.G.); (C.M.G.)
| | - Martina Tamburello
- Institute of Clinical Biochemistry, Clinical Molecular Medicine, and Clinical Laboratory Medicine, Department of Biomedicine, Neurosciences and Advanced Diagnostics, University of Palermo, 90133 Palermo, Italy; (L.A.); (A.M.); (M.T.); (R.V.); (D.M.); (R.V.G.); (C.M.G.)
| | - Roberta Vassallo
- Institute of Clinical Biochemistry, Clinical Molecular Medicine, and Clinical Laboratory Medicine, Department of Biomedicine, Neurosciences and Advanced Diagnostics, University of Palermo, 90133 Palermo, Italy; (L.A.); (A.M.); (M.T.); (R.V.); (D.M.); (R.V.G.); (C.M.G.)
| | - Davide Massa
- Institute of Clinical Biochemistry, Clinical Molecular Medicine, and Clinical Laboratory Medicine, Department of Biomedicine, Neurosciences and Advanced Diagnostics, University of Palermo, 90133 Palermo, Italy; (L.A.); (A.M.); (M.T.); (R.V.); (D.M.); (R.V.G.); (C.M.G.)
| | - Rosaria Vincenza Giglio
- Institute of Clinical Biochemistry, Clinical Molecular Medicine, and Clinical Laboratory Medicine, Department of Biomedicine, Neurosciences and Advanced Diagnostics, University of Palermo, 90133 Palermo, Italy; (L.A.); (A.M.); (M.T.); (R.V.); (D.M.); (R.V.G.); (C.M.G.)
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, University Hospital “P. Giaccone”, 90127 Palermo, Italy
| | - Mauro Midiri
- Institute of Legal Medicine, Department of Health Promotion, Mother and Child Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties, University of Palermo, 90133 Palermo, Italy;
| | - Caterina Maria Gambino
- Institute of Clinical Biochemistry, Clinical Molecular Medicine, and Clinical Laboratory Medicine, Department of Biomedicine, Neurosciences and Advanced Diagnostics, University of Palermo, 90133 Palermo, Italy; (L.A.); (A.M.); (M.T.); (R.V.); (D.M.); (R.V.G.); (C.M.G.)
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, University Hospital “P. Giaccone”, 90127 Palermo, Italy
| | - Marcello Ciaccio
- Institute of Clinical Biochemistry, Clinical Molecular Medicine, and Clinical Laboratory Medicine, Department of Biomedicine, Neurosciences and Advanced Diagnostics, University of Palermo, 90133 Palermo, Italy; (L.A.); (A.M.); (M.T.); (R.V.); (D.M.); (R.V.G.); (C.M.G.)
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, University Hospital “P. Giaccone”, 90127 Palermo, Italy
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Tembhurne AK, Maheshwari A, Warke H, Chaudhari H, Kerkar SC, Deodhar K, Rekhi B, Mania-Pramanik J. Killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptor (KIR) gene contents: Are they associated with cervical cancer? J Med Virol 2023; 95:e27873. [PMID: 35593263 DOI: 10.1002/jmv.27873] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2022] [Revised: 04/22/2022] [Accepted: 05/16/2022] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
Killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIRs) are required for natural killer cell function against virus-infected cells or tumor cells. KIR gene content polymorphisms in Indian women with cervical cancer (CaCx) remain unexplored. Hence, we analyzed the frequencies of KIR genes, KIR haplotypes, and Bx subsets to draw their association with CaCx. The polymerase chain reaction-sequence-specific primer method was used for KIR genotyping in three groups of women: healthy controls (n = 114), women with human papillomavirus (HPV) infection (n = 70), and women with CaCx (n = 120). The results showed that the frequency of KIR2DS5 was significantly higher in women with CaCx compared to women with HPV infection (p = 0.02) and healthy controls (p = 0.01). Whereas the frequency of KIR2DL5B was significantly higher in healthy controls than in women with HPV infection (p = 0.02). The total number of activating KIR genes was higher in women with CaCx than in healthy controls (p = 0.006), indicating their positive association with CaCx. Moreover, the C4T4 subset was higher in women with CaCx than in women with HPV infection, though not significant. In conclusion, our findings highlight KIR2DS5, the C4T4 subset, and activating KIR genes are susceptible factors or positively associated with CaCx. Besides KIR2DL5B, this study also reported for the first time significantly high frequency of KIR2DL1 in healthy controls, indicating its possible protective association against CaCx. Further, significantly high frequency of KIR2DL3 observed in HPV-infected women might be also a promising biomarker for viral infections. Thus, the study confirms the association of KIR genes with cervical cancer in women with HPV infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alok K Tembhurne
- ICMR-National Institute for Research in Reproductive Health, Parel, Mumbai, India
| | | | - Himangi Warke
- Seth GS Medical College and King Edward Memorial Hospital, Parel, Mumbai, India
| | - Hemangi Chaudhari
- Seth GS Medical College and King Edward Memorial Hospital, Parel, Mumbai, India
| | - Shilpa C Kerkar
- ICMR-National Institute for Research in Reproductive Health, Parel, Mumbai, India
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Bao X, Hanson AL, Madeleine MM, Wang SS, Schwartz SM, Newell F, Pettersson-Kymmer U, Hemminki K, Tiews S, Steinberg W, Rader JS, Castro F, Safaeian M, Franco EL, Coutlée F, Ohlsson C, Cortes A, Marshall M, Mukhopadhyay P, Cremin K, Johnson LG, Garland SM, Tabrizi SN, Wentzensen N, Sitas F, Trimble C, Little J, Cruickshank M, Frazer IH, Hildesheim A, Brown MA, Duncan EL, Sun YP, Leo PJ. HLA and KIR Associations of Cervical Neoplasia. J Infect Dis 2019; 218:2006-2015. [PMID: 30099516 DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jiy483] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2018] [Accepted: 08/06/2018] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women, and we recently reported human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles showing strong associations with cervical neoplasia risk and protection. HLA ligands are recognized by killer immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIRs) expressed on a range of immune cell subsets, governing their proinflammatory activity. We hypothesized that the inheritance of particular HLA-KIR combinations would increase cervical neoplasia risk. Methods Here, we used HLA and KIR dosages imputed from single-nucleotide polymorphism genotype data from 2143 cervical neoplasia cases and 13858 healthy controls of European decent. Results The following 4 novel HLA alleles were identified in association with cervical neoplasia, owing to their linkage disequilibrium with known cervical neoplasia-associated HLA-DRB1 alleles: HLA-DRB3*9901 (odds ratio [OR], 1.24; P = 2.49 × 10-9), HLA-DRB5*0101 (OR, 1.29; P = 2.26 × 10-8), HLA-DRB5*9901 (OR, 0.77; P = 1.90 × 10-9), and HLA-DRB3*0301 (OR, 0.63; P = 4.06 × 10-5). We also found that homozygosity of HLA-C1 group alleles is a protective factor for human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV16)-related cervical neoplasia (C1/C1; OR, 0.79; P = .005). This protective association was restricted to carriers of either KIR2DL2 (OR, 0.67; P = .00045) or KIR2DS2 (OR, 0.69; P = .0006). Conclusions Our findings suggest that HLA-C1 group alleles play a role in protecting against HPV16-related cervical neoplasia, mainly through a KIR-mediated mechanism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiao Bao
- Center for Reproductive Medicine, First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, China.,Henan Key Laboratory of Reproduction and Genetics, First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, China.,Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, School of Biomedical Sciences, Queensland University of Technology
| | - Aimee L Hanson
- University of Queensland Diamantina Institute, University of Queensland.,Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Queensland.,Translational Research Institute, Princess Alexandra Hospital, Woolloongabba
| | - Margaret M Madeleine
- Program in Epidemiology, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington
| | - Sophia S Wang
- Department of Population Sciences, Beckman Research Institute, City of Hope, Duarte, California
| | - Stephen M Schwartz
- Program in Epidemiology, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington
| | - Felicity Newell
- Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, School of Biomedical Sciences, Queensland University of Technology
| | - Ulrika Pettersson-Kymmer
- Department of Pharmacology and Clinical Neuroscience.,Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Umeå University, Umeå
| | - Kari Hemminki
- Center for Primary Health Care Research, Lund University, Lund.,Division of Molecular Genetic Epidemiology, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg
| | - Sven Tiews
- MHC Laboratory for Cytopathology, Dr Steinberg, Soest, Germany
| | | | - Janet S Rader
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
| | - Felipe Castro
- Division of Molecular Genetic Epidemiology, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg.,Division of Clinical Epidemiology and Aging Research, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg
| | - Mahboobeh Safaeian
- Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda
| | | | - François Coutlée
- Département de Microbiologie, Infectiologie et Immunologie, Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal, Montréal, Ottawa, Canada
| | - Claes Ohlsson
- Internal Medicine and Clinical Nutrition, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.,Center for Bone and Arthritis Research, Institute of Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Adrian Cortes
- University of Queensland Diamantina Institute, University of Queensland
| | - Mhairi Marshall
- Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, School of Biomedical Sciences, Queensland University of Technology
| | | | - Katie Cremin
- University of Queensland Diamantina Institute, University of Queensland
| | - Lisa G Johnson
- Program in Epidemiology, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington
| | - Suzanne M Garland
- Western Pacific Regional Human Papillomavirus Laboratory Network, Department of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases.,Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Royal Children's Hospital.,Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Melbourne, Parkville
| | - Sepehr N Tabrizi
- Western Pacific Regional Human Papillomavirus Laboratory Network, Department of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases.,Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Royal Children's Hospital.,Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Melbourne, Parkville
| | - Nicolas Wentzensen
- Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda
| | - Freddy Sitas
- Cancer Council NSW, Sydney.,Sydney School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Camperdown.,School of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of New South Wales, Kensington, Australia
| | - Cornelia Trimble
- Center for Cervical Dysplasia, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Julian Little
- School of Epidemiology and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada
| | | | - Ian H Frazer
- Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Queensland.,Translational Research Institute, Princess Alexandra Hospital, Woolloongabba
| | - Allan Hildesheim
- Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda
| | - Matthew A Brown
- Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, School of Biomedical Sciences, Queensland University of Technology
| | - Emma L Duncan
- Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, School of Biomedical Sciences, Queensland University of Technology
| | - Ying Pu Sun
- Center for Reproductive Medicine, First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, China.,Henan Key Laboratory of Reproduction and Genetics, First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, China
| | - Paul J Leo
- Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, School of Biomedical Sciences, Queensland University of Technology
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Barros MR, de Melo CML, Barros MLCMGR, de Cássia Pereira de Lima R, de Freitas AC, Venuti A. Activities of stromal and immune cells in HPV-related cancers. J Exp Clin Cancer Res 2018; 37:137. [PMID: 29976244 PMCID: PMC6034319 DOI: 10.1186/s13046-018-0802-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2018] [Accepted: 06/19/2018] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The immune system is composed of immune as well as non-immune cells. As this system is a well-established component of human papillomavirus- (HPV)-related carcinogenesis, high risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) prevents its routes and mechanisms in order to cause the persistence of infection. Among these mechanisms are those originated from stromal cells, which include the cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), the myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) and the host infected cells themselves, i.e. the keratinocytes. These types of cells play central role since they modulate immune cells activities to create a prosperous milieu for cancer development, and the knowledge how such interactions occur are essential for prognostic assessment and development of preventive and therapeutic approaches. Nevertheless, the precise mechanisms are not completely understood, and this lack of knowledge precluded the development of entirely efficient immunotherapeutic strategies for HPV-associated tumors. As a result, an intense work for attaining how host immune response works, and developing of effective therapies has been applied in the last decade. Based on this, this review aims to discuss the major mechanisms of immune and non-immune cells modulated by hrHPV and the potential and existing immunotherapies involving such mechanisms in HPV-related cancers. It is noticed that the combination of immunotherapies has been demonstrated to be essential for obtaining better results, especially because the possibility of increasing the modulating capacity of the HPV-tumor microenvironment has been shown to be central in strengthening the host immune system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marconi Rego Barros
- Laboratory of Molecular Studies and Experimental Therapy (LEMTE), Department of Genetics, Center of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Pernambuco, Cidade Universitária, Av. Prof Moraes Rego, 1235, Recife, PE CEP-50670-901 Brazil
| | - Cristiane Moutinho Lagos de Melo
- Laboratory of Immunological and Antitumor Analysis (LAIA), Department of Antibiotics, Center of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Pernambuco, Cidade Universitária, Av. Prof Artur de Sá, s/n, Recife, PE CEP-50740-525 Brazil
| | | | - Rita de Cássia Pereira de Lima
- Laboratory of Molecular Studies and Experimental Therapy (LEMTE), Department of Genetics, Center of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Pernambuco, Cidade Universitária, Av. Prof Moraes Rego, 1235, Recife, PE CEP-50670-901 Brazil
| | - Antonio Carlos de Freitas
- Laboratory of Molecular Studies and Experimental Therapy (LEMTE), Department of Genetics, Center of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Pernambuco, Cidade Universitária, Av. Prof Moraes Rego, 1235, Recife, PE CEP-50670-901 Brazil
| | - Aldo Venuti
- HPV-Unit, Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy Unit, Department of Research, Advanced Diagnostic and Technological Innovation, IRCCS Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, Via Elio Chianesi 53, 00144 Rome, Italy
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