Monocytes control natural killer cell differentiation to effector phenotypes

K Soderquest, N Powell, C Luci… - Blood, The Journal …, 2011 - ashpublications.org
K Soderquest, N Powell, C Luci, N van Rooijen, A Hidalgo, F Geissmann, T Walzer, GM Lord
Blood, The Journal of the American Society of Hematology, 2011ashpublications.org
Natural killer (NK) cells play a major role in immunologic surveillance of cancer. Whether NK-
cell subsets have specific roles during antitumor responses and what the signals are that
drive their terminal maturation remain unclear. Using an in vivo model of tumor immunity, we
show here that CD11bhiCD27low NK cells migrate to the tumor site to reject major
histocompatibility complex class I negative tumors, a response that is severely impaired in
Txb21−/− mice. The phenotypical analysis of Txb21-deficient mice shows that, in the …
Abstract
Natural killer (NK) cells play a major role in immunologic surveillance of cancer. Whether NK-cell subsets have specific roles during antitumor responses and what the signals are that drive their terminal maturation remain unclear. Using an in vivo model of tumor immunity, we show here that CD11bhiCD27low NK cells migrate to the tumor site to reject major histocompatibility complex class I negative tumors, a response that is severely impaired in Txb21−/− mice. The phenotypical analysis of Txb21-deficient mice shows that, in the absence of Txb21, NK-cell differentiation is arrested specifically at the CD11bhiCD27hi stage, resulting in the complete absence of terminally differentiated CD11bhiCD27low NK cells. Adoptive transfer experiments and radiation bone marrow chimera reveal that a Txb21+/+ environment rescues the CD11bhiCD27hi to CD11bhiCD27low transition of Txb21−/− NK cells. Furthermore, in vivo depletion of myeloid cells and in vitro coculture experiments demonstrate that spleen monocytes mediate the terminal differentiation of peripheral NK cells in a Txb21- and IL-15Rα–dependent manner. Together, these data reveal a novel, unrecognized role for Txb21 expression in monocytes in promoting NK-cell development and help appreciate how various NK-cell subsets are generated and participate in antitumor immunity.
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