Molecular Programming of Immunological Memory in Natural Killer Cells

Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology
Aimee M BeaulieuJoseph C Sun

Abstract

Immunological memory is a hallmark of the adaptive immune system. Although natural killer (NK) cells have traditionally been classified as a component of the innate immune system, they have recently been shown in mice and humans to exhibit certain features of immunological memory, including an ability to undergo a clonal-like expansion during virus infection, generate long-lived progeny (i.e. memory cells), and mediate recall responses against previously encountered pathogens--all characteristics previously ascribed only to adaptive immune responses by B and T cells in mammals. To date, the molecular events that govern the generation of NK cell memory are not completely understood. Using a mouse model of cytomegalovirus infection, we demonstrate that individual pro-inflammatory IL-12, IL-18, and type I-IFN signaling pathways are indispensible and play non-redundant roles in the generation of virus-specific NK cell memory. Furthermore, we discovered that antigen-specific proliferation and protection by NK cells is mediated by the transcription factor Zbtb32, which is induced by pro-inflammatory cytokines and promotes a cell cycle program in activated NK cells. A greater understanding of the molecular mechanisms controlling NK ce...Continue Reading

Citations

May 25, 2016·Nature Reviews. Urology·Zahid DelwarWilliam Jia
Apr 12, 2019·Parasite Immunology·Ann M MoormannCatherine S Forconi
Oct 17, 2015·Oncotarget·Youcai Deng, Jianhua Yu
Dec 25, 2019·Transplantation Proceedings·Nopporn ApiwattanakulBorje S Andersson

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