Immunology Program, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York 10065, USA.
Nat Rev Immunol. 2011 Aug 26;11(10):645-57. doi: 10.1038/nri3044.
Natural killer (NK) cells survey host tissues for signs of infection, transformation or stress and, true to their name, kill target cells that have become useless or are detrimental to the host. For decades, NK cells have been classified as a component of the innate immune system. However, accumulating evidence in mice and humans suggests that, like the B and T cells of the adaptive immune system, NK cells are educated during development, possess antigen-specific receptors, undergo clonal expansion during infection and generate long-lived memory cells. In this Review, we highlight the many stages that an NK cell progresses through during its remarkable lifetime, discussing similarities and differences with its close relative, the cytotoxic CD8(+) T cell.
自然杀伤 (NK) 细胞会检测宿主组织中是否存在感染、转化或应激的迹象，并且名副其实地杀死那些已经变得无用或对宿主有害的靶细胞。几十年来，NK 细胞一直被归类为先天免疫系统的一部分。然而，越来越多的证据表明，在小鼠和人类中，与适应性免疫系统的 B 和 T 细胞一样，NK 细胞在发育过程中受到教育，具有抗原特异性受体，在感染过程中经历克隆扩增，并产生长期存活的记忆细胞。在这篇综述中，我们强调了 NK 细胞在其非凡的生命周期中经历的许多阶段，讨论了其与近亲细胞毒性 CD8(+) T 细胞的异同。
