肝脏特有NK细胞的发现、验证与功能

Liver-specific natural killer cells:discovery,validation,and functions

自然杀伤(NK)细胞是固有免疫系统重要成员之一,人们对于NK细胞的认知主要源于在体内广泛分布的经典NK细胞的研究.肝脏作为天然免疫优势器官,含有数量丰富且具异质性的NK细胞.与经典NK相比,肝脏特有NK细胞具有独特表型特征和肝组织驻留特性,能介导接触性超敏反应,发育过程受不同的转录因子调控.该发现推动了对不同于经典NK细胞的、组织器官特异性NK细胞亚群的研究.本文简要综述了肝脏特有NK细胞的研究背景、发现过程、发育分化以及功能特征.

Nature killer （NK） cells are an important component of the innate immune system. Most of our current knowledge about NK cells is derived from previous studies of conventional NK cells that are circulating and widely distributed. With predominant functions in innate immunity, the liver contains abundant NK cells with phenotypic and functional heterogeneity. As compared with conventional NK cells, liver-specific NK cells exhibit unique phenotypic features and require different transcription factors for their development. Moreover, liver-specific NK cells are tissue-resident cells and have the ability to mount contact hypersensitivity responses. These findings have greatly motivated the study of tissue-specific NK cell subsets that are distinct from conventional NK cells. In this review, we summarize the research background and discovery of liver-specific NK cells and discuss their developmental requirements and functional properties.