Comparison of mouse NK cell subsets defined by CD27 and CD11b expression

Previous reports have defined three subsets of mouse NK cells on the basis of the expression of CD27 and CD11b. The developmental relationship between these subsets was unclear. To address this issue, we evaluated the overall proximity between mouse NK cell subsets defined by CD27 and CD11b expression using pangenomic gene expression profiling. The results suggest that CD27+CD11b-, CD27+CD11b+ and CD27-CD11b+ correspond to three different intermediates stages of NK cell development. Spleen cells from RAG-/- mice have been isolated and stained with anti-NK1.1, anti CD27 and anti CD11b antibodies. NK1.1+ cells were sorted into CD27+ CD11b-, CD27+ CD11b+ and CD27- CD11b+ subsets by flow cytometry. There are two independent replicates for each sample. Total RNA was extracted with the RNeasy microkit (Qiagen) and gene expression profiles were performed according to manufacturer instructions (Affymetrix mouse 430 2.0).