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Background: FcRγ-deficient natural killer (NK) cells (g¯NK cells) have been associated with cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection. However, the frequency of g¯NK cells in a CMV-endemic area (i.e., Korea) has not yet been studied. We examined the frequency of g¯NK cells and expression of CD57 on NK cells in cord blood (CB) and adult blood (AB). Methods: Of the 24 AB samples collected, 95.8% (23/24) were CMV IgG+/IgM-, while 100% of the 13 healthy CB samples were CMV IgG+/IgM-. We performed whole-blood flow cytometry assays to analyze intracellular FcRγ and CD3ζ expression of CD3-/CD56dim NK cells from 13 CB and 24 AB samples, and surface CD57 expression on CD3-/CD56dim/CD16+ NK cells from 13 CB and 19 AB samples. Results: All CMV seropositive AB samples contained g¯NK cells (23/23), and the median proportion of g¯NK cells in the CD3-/CD56dim NK cell pool was 35.0% (range: 11-77%). CD57+ NK cells in the CD3-/CD56dim/CD16+ NK cell population were detected in all 19 AB samples tested, but not in any CB samples. Conclusions: Our data suggest that g¯NK cells and CD57+ NK cells are present at a very high frequency in CMV-seropositive AB, but rare in CMV-naïve CB.
