<i>Toxoplasma gondii</i> infection drives conversion of NK cells into ILC1-like cells.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 31393266.
- Also identified by DOI 10.7554/eLife.47605 and PMC identifier 6703900.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) were originally classified based on their cytokine profiles, placing natural killer (NK) cells and ILC1s together, but recent studies support their separation into different lineages at steady-state. However, tumors may induce NK cell conversion into ILC1-like cells that are limited to the tumor microenvironment and whether this conversion occurs beyond this environment remains unknown. Here, we describe <i>Toxoplasma gondii</i> infection converts NK cells into ILC1-like cells that are distinct from both steady-state NK cells and ILC1s in uninfected mice. These cells were Eomes-dependent, indicating that NK cells can give rise to Eomes<sup>-</sup> Tbet-dependent ILC1-like cells that circulate widely and persist independent of ongoing infection. Moreover, these changes appear permanent, as supported by epigenetic analyses. Thus, these studies markedly expand current concepts of NK cells, ILCs, and their potential conversion.
Medical subject headings
- Cell Transdifferentiation
- Killer Cells, Natural
- Toxoplasma
- Toxoplasmosis