title: Roles of natural killer cells in antiviral immunity.
abstract: Natural killer (NK) cells are important in immune defense against virus infections. This is predominantly considered a function of rapid, innate NK-cell killing of virus-infected cells. However, NK cells also prime other immune cells through the release of interferon gamma (IFN-γ) and other cytokines. Additionally, NK cells share features with long-lived adaptive immune cells and can impact disease pathogenesis through the inhibition of adaptive immune responses by virus-specific T and B cells. The relative contributions of these diverse and conflicting functions of NK cells in humans are poorly defined and likely context-dependent, thereby complicating the development of therapeutic interventions. Here we focus on the contributions of NK cells to disease in diverse virus infections germane to human health.
authors.affiliation: Center for Autoimmune Genomics and Etiology (CAGE), Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, United States; Immunology Graduate Program, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, United States; Medical Scientist Training Program, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, United States; Pathobiology and Molecular Medicine Graduate Program, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, United States. Electronic address: Stephen.Waggoner@cchmc.org.
authors.forename: Stephen N
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Waggoner
authors.affiliation: Center for Autoimmune Genomics and Etiology (CAGE), Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, United States; Immunology Graduate Program, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, United States; Medical Scientist Training Program, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, United States.
authors.forename: Seth D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Reighard
authors.affiliation: Center for Autoimmune Genomics and Etiology (CAGE), Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, United States; Pathobiology and Molecular Medicine Graduate Program, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, United States.
authors.forename: Ivayla E
authors.initials: IE
authors.lastname: Gyurova
authors.affiliation: Center for Autoimmune Genomics and Etiology (CAGE), Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, United States.
authors.forename: Stacey A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Cranert
authors.affiliation: Center for Autoimmune Genomics and Etiology (CAGE), Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, United States.
authors.forename: Sarah E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Mahl
authors.affiliation: Center for Autoimmune Genomics and Etiology (CAGE), Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, United States.
authors.forename: Erik P
authors.initials: EP
authors.lastname: Karmele
authors.affiliation: Center for Autoimmune Genomics and Etiology (CAGE), Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, United States.
authors.forename: Jonathan P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: McNally
authors.affiliation: Center for Autoimmune Genomics and Etiology (CAGE), Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, United States; Immunology Graduate Program, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, United States.
authors.forename: Michael T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Moran
authors.affiliation: Center for Autoimmune Genomics and Etiology (CAGE), Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, United States.
authors.forename: Taylor R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Brooks
authors.affiliation: Center for Autoimmune Genomics and Etiology (CAGE), Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, United States; Immunology Graduate Program, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, United States.
authors.forename: Fazeela
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Yaqoob
authors.affiliation: Center for Autoimmune Genomics and Etiology (CAGE), Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, United States; Immunology Graduate Program, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, United States.
authors.forename: Carolyn E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Rydyznski
mesh_terms: D056704:Adaptive Immunity; D000818:Animals; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007113:Immunity, Innate; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D016131:Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D014777:Virus Diseases / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000821:virology*; D014780:Viruses / Q000145:classification / Q000276:immunology*