SIV-induced terminally differentiated adaptive NK cells in lymph nodes associated with enhanced MHC-E restricted activity.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 33627642.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-021-21402-1 and PMC identifier 7904927.
- 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
Natural killer (NK) cells play a critical understudied role during HIV infection in tissues. In a natural host of SIV, the African green monkey (AGM), NK cells mediate a strong control of SIVagm infection in secondary lymphoid tissues. We demonstrate that SIVagm infection induces the expansion of terminally differentiated NKG2a<sup>low</sup> NK cells in secondary lymphoid organs displaying an adaptive transcriptional profile and increased MHC-E-restricted cytotoxicity in response to SIV Env peptides while expressing little IFN-γ. Such NK cell differentiation was lacking in SIVmac-infected macaques. Adaptive NK cells displayed no increased NKG2C expression. This study reveals a previously unknown profile of NK cell adaptation to a viral infection, thus accelerating strategies toward NK-cell directed therapies and viral control in tissues.
Medical subject headings
- Killer Cells, Natural
- Lymph Nodes
- NK Cell Lectin-Like Receptor Subfamily C