title: NK cells in host responses to viral infections.
abstract: Natural killer (NK) cells are cytotoxic innate lymphocytes that play an important role in viral clearance. NK cell responses to viral infections were originally believed to be non-specific and lacked immune memory recall responses. It is now appreciated that NK cell responses to viral infections can be specific and in some cases memory recall responses are established. Increasing evidence also illuminates the complexity of NK cell interactions with both innate and adaptive immune cells. Here, we summarize the evidence for NK cell-specific memory responses to viral infections and the intricate reciprocal interactions between NK cells and other immune cells that dictate their activation and effector functions.
authors.affiliation: Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program, San Francisco, CA 94143, United States; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143, United States.
authors.forename: Viola C
authors.initials: VC
authors.lastname: Lam
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143, United States; Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, San Francisco, CA 94129, United States. Electronic address: Lewis.Lanier@ucsf.edu.
authors.forename: Lewis L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Lanier
mesh_terms: D056704:Adaptive Immunity; D000818:Animals; D016207:Cytokines / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007113:Immunity, Innate; D007156:Immunologic Memory; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000276:immunology*; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D016131:Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology*; D014777:Virus Diseases / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines