Interleukin-15 enhances the secretion of IFN-γ and CC chemokines by natural killer cells from HIV viremic and aviremic patients

Several lines of evidence documented a renewed interest in the role of natural killer (NK) cells in the innate immune control of HIV infection and disease progression. To further assess the role of NK cells as target for immunotherapy in HIV infection, we evaluated the priming effect of interleukin (IL)-15 on freshly isolated human peripheral NK cells, from viremic and aviremic HIV-infected patients, measuring the production of IFN-γ and CC chemokines.In vitro IL-15 priming induced a significant increase of IFN-γ production in both viremic and aviremic patients. IL-15 stimulated NK cells producing CC chemokine quantities that are reported to be capable of inhibiting HIV infection and replication. This priming effect is observed both in viral suppressed patients after antiretroviral therapy, and in viremic subjects with progressive HIV infection. The combination of IL-15 plus IL-12 is the most potent costimulus for CD69 expression and production of CC chemokines by NK cells. These findings indicate that NK cells are an important target for immunotherapeutic agents and provide additional pre-clinical data supporting the great potential of IL-15 in the immune-based interventions in HIV disease.