Vinay Kumar, M.B.B.S., M.D., FRCPath

Cellular and molecular biology of murine natural killer (NK) cells

Research Summary

Our laboratory is interested in the cellular and molecular biology of murine natural killer (NK) cells. These cells are believed to act as the first line of defense against tumors and viral infections. In addition they secrete a variety of cytokines including 1FN-g and GM-CSF that can influence the inflammatory response. Two aspects of NK cell biology are of particular interest to us: the development of NK cells from multipotent progenitor cells, and the identification of NK cell receptors and their ligands.

Selected Papers

Lian R and Kumar V. Use of stem cell radiation chimeras to analyze how domains of specific proteins impact on murine NK cell development in vivo. Methods Mol Biol. 2010; 612:51-65. PMID: 20033634 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Chlewicki LK and Kumar V. A model system for studying NK cell receptor signaling. Methods Mol Biol. 2010;612:177-98; PMID: 20033641 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Kim EO, Kim N, Kim K, Kim TW, Kumar V, Lee KM. Unidirectional signaling triggered through 2B4 (CD244), not CD48, in murine NK cells. J Leukoc Biol. 2010 Oct:88(4):707-14. PMID: 20647560 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]

Kim EO, Kim TJ, Kim N, Kim ST, Kumar V, Kee KM. Homotypic cell to cell cross-talk among human natural killer cells reveals differential and overlapping roles of 2B4 and CD2. J Biol Chem. 2010 Dec 31;285(53):41755-64.