NKp46 identifies a subset of goat leukocytes with phenotypic and functional characteristics of natural killer cells.

Natural killer (NK) cells are the first discovered member of innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) that play a pivotal role in host defense. They were initially identified by their ability to nonspecifically lyse certain tumor and virally infected cells. What is known about NK cells in species other than humans and mice is limited. The progress that has been made is through development and use of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) specific to NKp46 (NCR1, CD335), a major NK cell-activating receptor that has been used as a marker to identify leukocytes with NK cell characteristics in cattle, sheep, buffaloes, pigs, horses and dogs. As described herein, the finding that the mAb that recognizes sheep and cattle NKp46 recognizes the orthologue in goats has provided an opportunity to identify a subset of leukocytes with phenotypic and functional characteristics of NK cells in goats, a profile consistent with NK cell features reported in other animal species. The study expands opportunities to conduct comparative studies on NK cells across different species and underscores the potential use of goats as an animal model in investigating NK cell biology in health and disease.