Back to the drawing board: Understanding the complexity of hepatic innate lymphoid cells.
Recent studies of immune populations in nonlymphoid organs have highlighted the great diversity of the innate lymphoid system. It has also become apparent that mouse and human innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) have distinct phenotypes and properties. In this issue of the European Journal of Immunology, Harmon et al. [Eur. J. Immunol. 2016. 46: 2111-2120] characterized human hepatic NK-cell subsets. The authors report that hepatic CD56(bright) NK cells resemble mouse liver ILC1s in that they express CXCR6 and have an immature phenotype. However, unlike mouse ILC1s, they express high levels of Eomes and low levels of T-bet, and upon stimulation with tumor cells, secrete low amounts of cytokines. These unexpected findings further support the differences between human and mouse immune populations and prompt the study of the role of hepatic ILC subsets in immune responses.
Centre International de recherche en Infectiologie, CIRI, Inserm, U1111, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, UMR5308, École Normale Supérieure de Lyon, Univ Lyon, Hospices Civils de Lyon, LYON, France.
Marie
M
Marotel
Centre International de recherche en Infectiologie, CIRI, Inserm, U1111, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, UMR5308, École Normale Supérieure de Lyon, Univ Lyon, Hospices Civils de Lyon, LYON, France.
Uzma
U
Hasan
Centre International de recherche en Infectiologie, CIRI, Inserm, U1111, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, UMR5308, École Normale Supérieure de Lyon, Univ Lyon, Hospices Civils de Lyon, LYON, France.
Sébastien
S
Viel
Centre International de recherche en Infectiologie, CIRI, Inserm, U1111, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, UMR5308, École Normale Supérieure de Lyon, Univ Lyon, Hospices Civils de Lyon, LYON, France.
Antoine
A
Marçais
Centre International de recherche en Infectiologie, CIRI, Inserm, U1111, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, UMR5308, École Normale Supérieure de Lyon, Univ Lyon, Hospices Civils de Lyon, LYON, France. thierry.walzer@inserm.fr.
Thierry
T
Walzer
D000818:Animals; D016207:Cytokines; D022781:Hepatocytes; D006801:Humans; D007113:Immunity, Innate / Q000276:immunology*; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000276:immunology*; D008099:Liver / Q000276:immunology; D051379:Mice
D016207:Cytokines
CXCR6; Innate immunity; Innate lymphoid cells (ILCs); Liver; NK cells