title: Re-examining the origin and function of liver-resident NK cells.
abstract: Recent studies have identified a population of liver-resident innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) that, based on the expression of certain phenotypic markers, were termed 'liver-resident NK cells' and considered to be a new subset of conventional natural killer (cNK) cells. However, different transcriptional networks control the development of liver-resident NK cells and cNK cells and, furthermore, these cells exhibit features that characterize mucosal ILC1s. Here, we review findings providing insight into the origin, phenotype, and function of liver-resident NK cells, and discuss these in the context of the current understanding of lineage relations of ILC subsets. We propose that the similarities between liver-resident NK cells and mucosal ILC1s should be considered when revising the categorization framework for these cells, and discuss implications of this revision for other tissue-specific NK cells.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Immunology and CAS Key Laboratory of Innate Immunity and Chronic Disease, School of Life Sciences and Medical Center, University of Science & Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230027, China.
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.affiliation: Institute of Immunology and CAS Key Laboratory of Innate Immunity and Chronic Disease, School of Life Sciences and Medical Center, University of Science & Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230027, China; Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, State Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310003, China. Electronic address: tzg@ustc.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Zhigang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Tian
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D006801:Humans; D007113:Immunity, Innate; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D008099:Liver / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D010641:Phenotype; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D014157:Transcription Factors
keywords: NK cell; development; function; innate lymphoid cell; phenotype