title: [Homeostasis of natural killer cells].
abstract: Natural killer (NK) cells are important players of innate immunity, dedicated to the host defense against viruses and also involved in the immune surveillance of tumors. NK cells are widely distributed in the body and their number may increase locally during infection. They develop mainly in the bone marrow and perhaps in other lymphoid organs. They are constantly renewed, with a half-life of about 17 days at the periphery. In this article, we review the factors that regulate the homeostasis of NK cells including their development, differentiation, export to the periphery, their turnover, their homeostatic or antigen-induced proliferation and their survival before or after activation. In addition, we discuss the homeostasis of recently described so-called "memory" NK cells.
authors.affiliation: Université de Lyon, France.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rouzaire
authors.forename: Katia
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mayol
authors.forename: Sébastien
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Viel
authors.forename: Jacques
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bienvenu
authors.forename: Thierry
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Walzer
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000276:immunology / Q000502:physiology; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000502:physiology; D002634:Chemotaxis, Leukocyte / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D006706:Homeostasis / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007113:Immunity, Innate / Q000502:physiology; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000276:immunology / Q000502:physiology*; D008954:Models, Biological; D019718:Receptors, CXCR4 / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D049349:Receptors, Lysosphingolipid / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D019718:Receptors, CXCR4; D049349:Receptors, Lysosphingolipid