Monocytes control natural killer cell differentiation to effector phenotypes

TY - JOUR

T1 - Monocytes control natural killer cell differentiation to effector phenotypes

AU - Soderquest, Katrina

AU - Powell, Nicholas

AU - Luci, Carmelo

AU - van Rooijen, Nico

AU - Hidalgo, Andres

AU - Geissmann, Frederic

AU - Walzer, Thierry

AU - Lord, Graham M.

AU - Martin-Fontecha, Alfonso

PY - 2011/4/28

Y1 - 2011/4/28

N2 - 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 CD11b(hi)CD27(low) 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 CD11b(hi)CD27(hi) stage, resulting in the complete absence of terminally differentiated CD11b(hi)CD27(low) NK cells. Adoptive transfer experiments and radiation bone marrow chimera reveal that a Txb21(+/+) environment rescues the CD11b(hi)CD27(hi) to CD11b(hi)CD27(low) 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-15R alpha-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. (Blood. 2011; 117(17):4511-4518)

AB - 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 CD11b(hi)CD27(low) 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 CD11b(hi)CD27(hi) stage, resulting in the complete absence of terminally differentiated CD11b(hi)CD27(low) NK cells. Adoptive transfer experiments and radiation bone marrow chimera reveal that a Txb21(+/+) environment rescues the CD11b(hi)CD27(hi) to CD11b(hi)CD27(low) 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-15R alpha-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. (Blood. 2011; 117(17):4511-4518)

U2 - 10.1182/blood-2010-10-312264

DO - 10.1182/blood-2010-10-312264

M3 - Article

SN - 1528-0020

VL - 117

SP - 4511

EP - 4518

JO - Blood

JF - Blood

IS - 17

ER -