scholarly journals DNAM-1 controls NK cell activation via an ITT-like motif

2015 ◽  
Vol 212 (12) ◽  
pp. 2165-2182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhanguang Zhang ◽  
Ning Wu ◽  
Yan Lu ◽  
Dominique Davidson ◽  
Marco Colonna ◽  
...  

DNAM-1 (CD226) is an activating receptor expressed on natural killer (NK) cells, CD8+ T cells, and other immune cells. Upon recognition of its ligands, CD155 and CD112, DNAM-1 promotes NK cell–mediated elimination of transformed and virus-infected cells. It also has a key role in expansion and maintenance of virus-specific memory NK cells. Herein, the mechanism by which DNAM-1 controls NK cell–mediated cytotoxicity and cytokine production was elucidated. Cytotoxicity and cytokine production triggered by DNAM-1 were mediated via a conserved tyrosine- and asparagine-based motif in the cytoplasmic domain of DNAM-1. Upon phosphorylation by Src kinases, this motif enabled binding of DNAM-1 to adaptor Grb2, leading to activation of enzymes Vav-1, phosphatidylinositol 3′ kinase, and phospholipase C-γ1. It also promoted activation of kinases Erk and Akt, and calcium fluxes. Although, as reported, DNAM-1 promoted adhesion, this function was signal-independent and insufficient to promote cytotoxicity. DNAM-1 signaling was also required to enhance cytotoxicity, by increasing actin polymerization and granule polarization. We propose that DNAM-1 promotes NK cell activation via an immunoreceptor tyrosine tail (ITT)–like motif coupling DNAM-1 to Grb2 and other downstream effectors.

Blood ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 116 (17) ◽  
pp. 3238-3248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Enrico Lugli ◽  
Carolyn K. Goldman ◽  
Liyanage P. Perera ◽  
Jeremy Smedley ◽  
Rhonda Pung ◽  
...  

Abstract Interleukin-15 (IL-15) is a cytokine with potential therapeutic application in individuals with cancer or immunodeficiency to promote natural killer (NK)– and T-cell activation and proliferation or in vaccination protocols to generate long-lived memory T cells. Here we report that 10-50 μg/kg IL-15 administered intravenously daily for 12 days to rhesus macaques has both short- and long-lasting effects on T-cell homeostasis. Peripheral blood lymphopenia preceded a dramatic expansion of NK cells and memory CD8 T cells in the circulation, particularly a 4-fold expansion of central memory CD8 T cells and a 6-fold expansion of effector memory CD8 T cells. This expansion is a consequence of their activation in multiple tissues. A concomitant inverted CD4/CD8 T-cell ratio was observed throughout the body at day 13, a result of preferential CD8 expansion. Expanded T- and NK-cell populations declined in the blood soon after IL-15 was stopped, suggesting migration to extralymphoid sites. By day 48, homeostasis appears restored throughout the body, with the exception of the maintenance of an inverted CD4/CD8 ratio in lymph nodes. Thus, IL-15 generates a dramatic expansion of short-lived memory CD8 T cells and NK cells in immunocompetent macaques and has long-term effects on the balance of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells.


2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (5) ◽  
pp. e1008807
Author(s):  
Einat Seidel ◽  
Liat Dassa ◽  
Corinna Schuler ◽  
Esther Oiknine-Djian ◽  
Dana G. Wolf ◽  
...  

Natural killer (NK) cells are innate immune lymphocytes capable of killing target cells without prior sensitization. One pivotal activating NK receptor is NKG2D, which binds a family of eight ligands, including the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I-related chain A (MICA). Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a ubiquitous betaherpesvirus causing morbidity and mortality in immunosuppressed patients and congenitally infected infants. HCMV encodes multiple antagonists of NK cell activation, including many mechanisms targeting MICA. However, only one of these mechanisms, the HCMV protein US9, counters the most prevalent MICA allele, MICA*008. Here, we discover that a hitherto uncharacterized HCMV protein, UL147A, specifically downregulates MICA*008. UL147A primarily induces MICA*008 maturation arrest, and additionally targets it to proteasomal degradation, acting additively with US9 during HCMV infection. Thus, UL147A hinders NKG2D-mediated elimination of HCMV-infected cells by NK cells. Mechanistic analyses disclose that the non-canonical GPI anchoring pathway of immature MICA*008 constitutes the determinant of UL147A specificity for this MICA allele. These findings advance our understanding of the complex and rapidly evolving HCMV immune evasion mechanisms, which may facilitate the development of antiviral drugs and vaccines.


2021 ◽  
Vol 218 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sam Sheppard ◽  
Joseph C. Sun

NK cells express a limited number of germline-encoded receptors that identify infected or transformed cells, eliciting cytotoxicity, effector cytokine production, and in some circumstances clonal proliferation and memory. To maximize the functional diversity of NK cells, the array and expression level of surface receptors vary between individual NK cell “clones” in mice and humans. Cytomegalovirus infection in both species can expand a population of NK cells expressing receptors critical to the clearance of infected cells and generate a long-lived memory pool capable of targeting future infection with greater efficacy. Here, we discuss the pathways and factors that regulate the generation and maintenance of effector and memory NK cells and propose how this understanding may be harnessed therapeutically.


Author(s):  
Sonia Ghilas ◽  
Marc Ambrosini ◽  
Jean-Charles Cancel ◽  
Marion Massé ◽  
Hugues Lelouard ◽  
...  

SummaryA successful immune response relies on a tightly regulated delivery of the right signals to the right cells at the right time. Here we show that innate and innate-like lymphocytes use two mechanisms to orchestrate in time and space the functions of conventional type 1 dendritic cells (cDC1) in spleen. Early after murine cytomegalovirus infection, XCL1 production by lymphocytes with innate functions attracts red pulp cDC1 near IFN-γ-producing NK cells, generating superclusters around infected cells in the marginal zone. There, cDC1 and NK cells physically interact reinforcing their reciprocal activation. Targeted IL-12 delivery and IL-15/IL-15Rα transpresentation by cDC1 trigger NK cell activation and expansion. In return, activated NK cells deliver GM-CSF to cDC1, triggering their CCR7-dependent relocalization into the T cell zone. This NK cell-dependent licensing of cDC1 accelerates the priming of virus-specific CD8+ T cells. Our findings reveal a novel mechanism through which cDC1 bridge innate and adaptive immunity.


Blood ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 107 (4) ◽  
pp. 1342-1351 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zusen Fan ◽  
Ping Yu ◽  
Yang Wang ◽  
Yugang Wang ◽  
May Lynne Fu ◽  
...  

Natural killer (NK) cells are generally reported as innate effector cells for killing virally infected and transformed cells. It is unclear how NK cells evoke adaptive immunity to eradicate tumors. We now demonstrate that the TNF superfamily member, LIGHT, known as TNFSF14 and a T-cell costimulatory molecule, is a critical ligand for the activation of NK cells. Herpesvirus entry mediator (HVEM) is expressed on NK cells, and its engagement with LIGHT mediates NK-cell activation. The expression of LIGHT inside tumors leads to rapid rejection in a NK-dependent manner. Both NK and CD8+ cells are essential but not sufficient for the rejection of tumors because mice lacking either population fail to reject the tumor. Interestingly, activated NK cells do not kill tumors directly but can facilitate the priming of tumor-specific CD8+ T cells in an IFN-γ–dependent manner. Conversely, intratumor depletion of either NK cells or IFN-γ during tumor progression disrupts CD8+ cell–mediated tumor rejection, suggesting that the tumor is the essential site for the crosstalk between NK and CD8+ cells. Furthermore, IFNG-deficient NK cells fail to effectively activate CD8+ T cells, suggesting IFN-γ plays an important role in NK-mediated activation of cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs). Our findings establish a direct role for LIGHT in NK activation/expansion and a critical helper role of activated NK cells in priming CD8+ T cells and breaking T-cell tolerance at the tumor site.


1989 ◽  
Vol 169 (2) ◽  
pp. 549-567 ◽  
Author(s):  
M A Cassatella ◽  
I Anegón ◽  
M C Cuturi ◽  
P Griskey ◽  
G Trinchieri ◽  
...  

In this study, we present evidence that interaction of Fc gamma R(CD16) with ligands (immune complexes or anti-CD16 antibodies) induces a rapid rise in [Ca2+]i and fast production of both inositol 1,4,5 triphosphate (IP3) and IP4 in homogeneous NK cell preparations. Part of the initial [Ca2+]i rise observed upon stimulation of NK cells with either anti-CD16 antibodies alone or after their crosslinking at the cell membrane depends on Ca2+ mobilization from intracellular stores, but sustained [Ca2+]i levels are maintained, after the initial spike, through influx of extracellular Ca2+. The [Ca2+]i rise is mediated, at least in part, by increases in IP3 after receptor-induced hydrolysis of membrane polyphosphoinositides (PPI). The role of extracellular Ca2+ in Fc gamma R(CD16)-dependent induction of lymphokine gene expression has been tested by evaluating production, mRNA accumulation and transcription of IFN-gamma and TNF in NK cells stimulated with Fc gamma R(CD16) ligands and/or rIL-2 in the presence of EGTA. Under these conditions, accumulation and transcription of both IFN-gamma and TNF mRNA induced by CD16 ligands, but not that induced by rIL-2, is completely abolished and neither cytokine can be detected at significant levels in the supernatant fluids of cells so treated. These data confirm that NK cell activation by specific ligands occurs through mechanisms distinct from those induced by IL-2, and indicate that extracellular Ca2+ represents a stringent requirement for cytokine production induced in NK cells through specific (Fc gamma R) stimulation. Our data also indicate that the [Ca2+]i rise induced upon Fc gamma R(CD16) crosslinking, though necessary, is not sufficient per se to induce activation of lymphokine genes, compatible with the hypothesis that Fc gamma R(CD16) crosslinking generates additional transducing signals that synergize with IL-2 to maximally activate NK cells.


2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (12) ◽  
pp. e0010006
Author(s):  
Hannes Vietzen ◽  
Svenja Hartenberger ◽  
Stephan W. Aberle ◽  
Elisabeth Puchhammer-Stöckl

Background Infections with the Puumala orthohantavirus (PUUV) in humans may cause hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS), known as nephropathia epidemica (NE), which is associated with acute renal failure in severe cases. In response to PUUV-infections, a subset of potent antiviral NKG2C+ NK cells expand, whose role in virus defence and pathogenesis of NE is unclear. NKG2C+ NK cell proliferation is mediated by binding of NKG2C/CD94 to HLA-E on infected cells. The proliferation and activation of NKG2C+ NK cells via the NKG2C/HLA-E axis is affected by different NKG2C (NKG2Cwt/del) and HLA-E (HLA-E*0101/0103) alleles, which naturally occur in the human host. Homozygous (NKG2Cdel/del) and heterozygous (NKG2Cwt/del) deletions of the NKG2C receptor results in an impaired NKG2C/CD94 mediated proliferation and activation of NKG2C+ cells. We therefore analyzed the PUUV-mediated NKG2C+ NK cell responses and the impact of different NKG2C and HLA-E alleles in NE patients. Methodology/Principal findings NKG2C+ NK cell expansion and effector functions in PUUV-infected cells were investigated using flow cytometry and it was shown that PUUV-infected endothelial cells led to a NKG2C/CD94 mediated NKG2C+ NK cell activation and expansion, dependent on the HLA-G-mediated upregulation of HLA-E. Furthermore, the NKG2Cdel and HLA-E*0101/0103 alleles were determined in 130 NE patients and 130 matched controls, and it was shown that in NE patients the NKG2Cwt/del allele was significantly overrepresented, compared to the NKG2Cwt/wt variant (p = 0.01). In addition, in vitro analysis revealed that NKG2Cwt/del NK cells exhibited on overall a lower proliferation (p = 0.002) and lower IFNγ expression (p = 0.004) than NKG2Cwt/wt NK cells. Conclusions/Significance Our results corroborate the substantial impact of the NKG2C/HLA-E axis on PUUV-specific NK cell responses. A weak NKG2C+ NK cell response, as reflected by NKG2Cwt/del variant, may be associated with a higher risk for a severe hantavirus infections.


2021 ◽  
Vol 218 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Ferez ◽  
Cory J. Knudson ◽  
Avital Lev ◽  
Eric B. Wong ◽  
Pedro Alves-Peixoto ◽  
...  

Natural killer (NK) cell activation depends on the signaling balance of activating and inhibitory receptors. CD94 forms inhibitory receptors with NKG2A and activating receptors with NKG2E or NKG2C. We previously demonstrated that CD94-NKG2 on NK cells and its ligand Qa-1b are important for the resistance of C57BL/6 mice to lethal ectromelia virus (ECTV) infection. We now show that NKG2C or NKG2E deficiency does not increase susceptibility to lethal ECTV infection, but overexpression of Qa-1b in infected cells does. We also demonstrate that Qa-1b is down-regulated in infected and up-regulated in bystander inflammatory monocytes and B cells. Moreover, NK cells activated by ECTV infection kill Qa-1b–deficient cells in vitro and in vivo. Thus, during viral infection, recognition of Qa-1b by activating CD94/NKG2 receptors is not critical. Instead, the levels of Qa-1b expression are down-regulated in infected cells but increased in some bystander immune cells to respectively promote or inhibit their killing by activated NK cells.


2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (8) ◽  
pp. 452-465 ◽  
Author(s):  
José E Belizário ◽  
Jennifer M Neyra ◽  
Maria Fernanda Setúbal Destro Rodrigues

NK cells are innate lymphoid cells that exert a key role in immune surveillance through the recognition and elimination of transformed cells and viral, bacterial, and protozoan pathogen-infected cells without prior sensitization. Elucidating when and how NK cell-induced intracellular microbial cell death functions in the resolution of infection and host inflammation has been an important topic of investigation. NK cell activation requires the engagement of specific activating, co-stimulatory, and inhibitory receptors which control positively and negatively their differentiation, memory, and exhaustion. NK cells secrete diverse cytokines, including IFN-γ, TNF-α/β, CD95/FasL, and TRAIL, as well as cytoplasmic cytotoxic granules containing perforin, granulysin, and granzymes A and B. Paradoxically, NK cells also kill other immune cells like macrophages, dendritic cells, and hyper-activated T cells, thus turning off self-immune reactions. Here we first provide an overview of NK cell biology, and then we describe and discuss the life–death signals that connect the microbial pathogen sensors to the inflammasomes and finally to cell death signaling pathways. We focus on caspase-mediated cell death by apoptosis and pro-inflammatory and non-caspase-mediated cell death by necroptosis, as well as inflammasome- and caspase-mediated pyroptosis.


2015 ◽  
Vol 89 (19) ◽  
pp. 9909-9919 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irene Lisovsky ◽  
Gamze Isitman ◽  
Rujun Song ◽  
Sandrina DaFonseca ◽  
Alexandra Tremblay-McLean ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTEpidemiological and functional studies implicate NK cells in HIV control. However, there is little information available on which NK cell populations, as defined by the inhibitory NK cell receptors (iNKRs) they express, respond to autologous HIV-infected CD4+(iCD4) T cells. NK cells acquire antiviral functions through education, which requires signals received from iNKRs, such as NKG2A and KIR3DL1 (here, 3DL1), engaging their ligands. NKG2A interacts with HLA-E, and 3DL1 interacts with HLA-A/B antigens expressing the Bw4 epitope. HIV-infected cells downregulate HLA-A/B, which should interrupt negative signaling through 3DL1, leading to NK cell activation, provided there is sufficient engagement of activating NKRs. We examined the functionality of NK cells expressing or not NKG2A and 3DL1 stimulated by HLA-null and autologous iCD4 cells. Flow cytometry was used to gate on each NKG2A+/NKG2A−3DL1+/3DL1−(NKG2A+/−3DL1+/−) population and to measure the frequency of all possible combinations of CD107a expression and gamma interferon (IFN-γ) and CCL4 secretion. The highest frequency of functional NK cells responding to HLA-null cell stimulation was the NKG2A+3DL1+NK cell population. The highest frequencies of functional NK cells responding to autologous iCD4 cells were those expressing NKG2A; coexpression of 3DL1 did not further modulate responsiveness. This was the case for the functional subsets characterized by the sum of all functions tested (total responsiveness), as well as by the trifunctional CD107a+IFN-γ+CCL4+, CD107a+IFN-γ+, total CD107a+, and total IFN-γ+functional subsets. These results indicate that the NKG2A receptor has a role in NK cell-mediated anti-HIV responses.IMPORTANCEHIV-infected CD4 (iCD4) cells activate NK cells, which then control HIV replication. However, little is known regarding which NK cell populations iCD4 cells stimulate to develop antiviral activity. Here, we examine the frequency of NK cell populations, defined by the presence/absence of the NK cell receptors (NKRs) NKG2A and 3DL1, that respond to iCD4 cells. NKG2A and 3DL1 are involved in priming NK cells for antiviral functions upon encountering virus-infected cells. A higher frequency of NKG2A+than NKG2A−NK cells responded to iCD4 cells by developing antiviral functions such as CD107a expression, which correlates with NK cell killing, and secretion of gamma interferon and CCL4. Coexpression of 3DL1 on the NKG2A+and NKG2A−NK cells did not modulate responses to iCD4 cells. Understanding the mechanisms underlying the interaction of NK cells with iCD4 cells that lead to HIV control may contribute to developing strategies that harness NK cells for preventing or controlling HIV infection.


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