Fig. 6

Assessment of natural killer (NK) cell function during acute dengue virus (DENV) infection. a Representative flow cytometry staining shown as concatenated plots for CD107a, interferon-γ (IFNγ), tumor necrosis factor (TNF), macrophage inflammatory protein-1β (MIP-1β), and granulocyte–macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) for CD56^bright and CD56^dim NK cells after the indicated stimulations. Gates were set according to unstimulated cells (no target). Numbers within gates indicate percent positive cells. Rit, Rituximab^®. b Heat map summarizing the frequency of CD56^bright NK cells and CD56^dim NK cells responding to the indicated stimulations (K562 cells, n = 4; 721.221 cells, n = 9; 721.221 cells + Rituximab^®, n = 9; IL-12 + IL-18, n = 4; IL-12 + IL-18 + K562 cells, n = 4) during the acute, post-febrile, and convalescent phase of DENV infection, and healthy controls. c Pie charts showing the number of functions, as defined by Boolean gating, simultaneously exhibited by CD56^bright (left panels) and CD56^dim (right panels) NK cells either at the acute (upper panels) or convalescent phase (lower panels) of DENV infection in response to the indicated stimuli. The number of functions (one to five) is shown in different shades of gray, and the outer arcs indicate which functions were detected within each pie. d Frequency of CD56^bright NK cells and CD56^dim NK cells responding with IFNγ, TNF, and MIP-1β production upon in vitro infection of healthy donor peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) with live DENV (DENV), DENV pre-incubated with the chimeric 4G2 monoclonal antibody (mAb) (DENV + Ab), ultraviolet (UV)-inactivated DENV (DENV UV), UV-inactivated DENV pre-incubated with the chimeric 4G2 mAb (DENV UV + Ab), and with 4G2 antibody only (Ab) for 24 h. Medium control was subtracted. Statistical differences were tested using paired t test or Wilcoxon’s matched-pairs signed-rank test. *P < 0.05 and **p < 0.01; n.s. not significant. Source data are provided as a Source Data file