Journal: Journal of immunology (Baltimore, Md. : 1950)
Article Title: Human Natural Killer Cell Cytoskeletal Dynamics and Cytotoxicity are Regulated by LIM Kinase
doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.2000186
Figure Lengend Snippet: NK cells were exposed to dexamethasone, LXA4, or vehicle control for 48 hours prior to co-incubation with K562 target cells for 2 hours. In some experiments, NK cells were pre-treated with the LIMK inhibitor BMS-5 (10 μM) prior to exposure to LXA4. (A) Confocal microscopy was utilized to image intracellular F-actin (phalloidin AF555, red), perforin (AF488, green), and α-tubulin (AF647, blue) in NK:target conjugates. (B) Immune synapse density of F-actin (area x MFI) was quantified in Veh- (grey), Dex- (blue), or LXA4-exposed (red) NK cells. (C) MTOC to immune synapse distance was calculated for individual NK:target conjugates in each condition. (D) The relationship between F-actin density and MTOC to synapse distance was determined and Pearson correlation coefficient and significance are noted. (E) Pie charts depict the percentage of NK cells with MTOC < 2 μm from the immune synapse (white) in each condition. The density of NK cell perforin within the immune synapse (F) and the entire NK cell (G) was calculated. ≥ 45 NK:target conjugates per condition were imaged from 3 individual experiments. NK:target conjugates were analyzed by confocal microscopy for (H) F-actin accumulation at the immune synapse, (I) MTOC to synapse distance, and (J) synaptic perforin content and (K) target cell apoptosis by flow cytometry in NK cells exposed to LXA4 in the presence or absence of the LIMK inhibitor BMS-5. (L) Expression of LIMK pathway proteins was assessed by Western immunoblotting of NK cells exposed to LXA4 in the presence or absence of the LIMK inhibitor BMS-5. n=2 experiments, ≥ 35 NK:target conjugates were imaged per condition. Violin plots show distribution density with median (line) and quartiles (dashed line). Bars express mean ± SEM. Scale bar = 5 μm. *p<0.05, **p<0.005, ***p<0.0005, ****p<0.0001 by one-way ANOVA with Tukey’s multiple comparisons test or two-tailed Student’s t-test.
Article Snippet: LIMK inhibition In select experiments, NK cells were exposed to the LIMK inhibitor BMS-5 (Enzo Life Sciences) at 1 μM, 5 μM, or 10 μM for 48 hours.
Techniques: Incubation, Confocal Microscopy, Flow Cytometry, Expressing, Western Blot, Two Tailed Test