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Natural killer cell memory

Nature Immunology volume 12, pages 500–508 (2011)Cite this article

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Abstract

Natural killer (NK) cells are bone marrow–derived granular lymphocytes that have a key role in immune defense against viral and bacterial infections and malignancies. NK cells are traditionally defined as cells of the innate immune response because they lack RAG recombinase–dependent clonal antigen receptors. However, evidence suggests that specific subsets of mouse NK cells can nevertheless develop long-lived and highly specific memory to a variety of antigens. Here we review published evidence of NK cell–mediated, RAG-independent adaptive immunity. We also compare and contrast candidate mechanisms for mammalian NK cell memory and antigen recognition with other examples of RAG-independent pathways that generate antigen receptor diversity in non-mammalian species and discuss NK cell memory in the context of lymphocyte evolution.

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Figure 1: Proposed model for the generation, maintenance and reactivation of NK cell memory.
Figure 2: Key cellular migration events during hapten-induced NK cell–mediated contact hypersensitivity.
Figure 3: Overview of innate and adaptive immunity and cytotoxic leukocytes in deuterostomes.

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Acknowledgements

Supported by the Cancer Research Institute (S.P.), the Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard (S.P. and U.H.v.A.) and the US National Institutes of Health (AI069259, AI072252 and AI1078897 to U.H.v.A.).

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  1. Department of Pathology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    Silke Paust & Ulrich H von Andrian

  2. The Ragon Institute of MIT, MGH and Harvard, Charlestown, Massachusetts, USA

    Silke Paust

  3. Immune Disease Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    Ulrich H von Andrian

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Correspondence to Ulrich H von Andrian.

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Paust, S., von Andrian, U. Natural killer cell memory. Nat Immunol 12, 500–508 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/ni.2032

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