Expansion of CD56Bright natural killer cells in the peripheral blood of multiple sclerosis patients treated with interferon-beta

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Abstract
We studied how interferon-beta (IFN-β) treatment of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS) affects subgroups of natural killer cells (NK cells). Following IFN-β treatment, there was an expansion of CD56Bright NK-cells in the peripheral blood of MS patients, while at the same time the proportion of CD56Dim cells was diminished. In a control group, the proportion of CD56Bright NK-cells was significantly higher in secondary lymphoid tissues compared to the peripheral blood of the same individual. Our findings confirm that CD56Bright NK-cells preferably locate within the secondary lymphoid tissues, where they may interact with T cells and thereby contribute to the control of the disease activity in MS.