Figure 3
From: Composition and dynamics of the uterine NK cell KIR repertoire in menstrual blood
KIR co-expression patterns on uterine NK cells. (a) Frequency of menstrual blood uterine (CD16−CD57−NKG2A+) and conventional (CD16+) NK cells and peripheral blood CD16+CD56dim NK cells expressing 1–6 KIRs (n=2–25, *P<0.05, **P<0.01, ***P<0.001, ANOVA parametric test, with Dunnett test). (b) Observed frequencies of NK cells co-expressing two KIRs (14 pairs analyzed) plotted against those expected from the product rule. K-values were derived from the slope of the linear regression of observed data, relative to a perfect fit with the product rule. P-values were derived from a linear regression analysis. Deviation from the product rule in percent is obtained by the formula (k−1) × 100. (c) Product rule assessment for NK cells co-expressing three KIRs (11 combinations analyzed). For (b and c), if expression of two KIRs is an independent event, their co-expression frequency is predicted by the product rule, i.e., by the product of the expression frequencies for the respective KIRs (%KIR-A+ × %KIR-B+=%KIR-AB+). The gray line, illustrating a 1:1 relation between observed and expected frequencies, depicts this.
