Department of Biomedical Sciences, 437807Humanitas University, Milan, Italy.
Innate Immun. 2021 Apr;27(3):212-229. doi: 10.1177/17534259211001512. Epub 2021 Mar 24.
NK cells are the major lymphocyte subset of the innate immune system that mediates antiviral and anti-tumor responses. It is well established that they develop mechanisms to distinguish self from non-self during the process of NK cell education. Unlike T and B cells, natural killer cells lack clonotypic receptors and are activated after recognizing their target via germline-encoded receptors through natural cytotoxicity, cytokine stimulation, and Ab-dependent cellular cytotoxicity. Subsequently, they utilize cytotoxic granules, death receptor ligands, and cytokines to perform their effector functions. In this review, we provide a general overview of human NK cells, as opposed to murine NK cells, discussing their ontogeny, maturation, receptor diversity, types of responses, and effector functions. Furthermore, we also describe recent advances in human NK cell biology, including tissue-resident NK cell populations, NK cell memory, and novel approaches used to target NK cells in cancer immunotherapy.
自然杀伤 (NK) 细胞是先天免疫系统中的主要淋巴细胞亚群，可介导抗病毒和抗肿瘤反应。众所周知，在 NK 细胞发育过程中，它们会发展出区分自身与非自身的机制。与 T 和 B 细胞不同，自然杀伤细胞缺乏克隆型受体，并且在通过胚系编码受体识别其靶标后被激活，通过自然细胞毒性、细胞因子刺激和 Ab 依赖性细胞毒性。随后，它们利用细胞毒性颗粒、死亡受体配体和细胞因子来发挥其效应功能。在这篇综述中，我们提供了对人类 NK 细胞的概述，而不是对小鼠 NK 细胞的概述，讨论了它们的发生、成熟、受体多样性、反应类型和效应功能。此外，我们还描述了人类 NK 细胞生物学的最新进展，包括组织驻留 NK 细胞群体、NK 细胞记忆以及用于在癌症免疫治疗中靶向 NK 细胞的新方法。
