Department of Immunology, IRCCS Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, Rome, Italy.
Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy.
Eur J Immunol. 2021 Jul;51(7):1566-1579. doi: 10.1002/eji.202049028. Epub 2021 May 10.
NK cells are cytotoxic components of innate lymphoid cells (ILC) that provide a first line of defense against viral infections and contribute to control tumor growth and metastasis. Their function is finely regulated by an array of HLA-specific and non-HLA-specific inhibitory and activating receptors which allow to discriminate between healthy and altered cells. Human NK cells gained a major attention in recent years because of the important progresses in understanding their biology and of some promising data in tumor therapy. In this review, we will outline well-established issues of human NK cells and discuss some of the open questions, debates, and recent advances regarding their origin, differentiation, and tissue distribution. Newly defined NK cell specializations, including the impact of inhibitory checkpoints on their function, their crosstalk with other cell types, and the remarkable adaptive features acquired in response to certain virus infections will also be discussed.
自然杀伤 (NK) 细胞是先天淋巴细胞 (ILC) 的细胞毒性成分，它们为抵抗病毒感染提供了第一道防线，并有助于控制肿瘤生长和转移。它们的功能受到一系列 HLA 特异性和非 HLA 特异性抑制性和激活性受体的精细调节，这些受体可以区分健康细胞和异常细胞。近年来，由于人们对 NK 细胞生物学的重要认识进展，以及在肿瘤治疗方面的一些有希望的数据，人类 NK 细胞引起了人们的极大关注。在这篇综述中，我们将概述 NK 细胞的一些已确立的问题，并讨论一些关于其起源、分化和组织分布的开放性问题、争议和最新进展。我们还将讨论新定义的 NK 细胞的专业化，包括抑制性检查点对其功能的影响、它们与其他细胞类型的相互作用，以及对某些病毒感染产生的显著适应性特征。
