RRC ID 77328
Author Nabekura T, Deborah EA, Tahara S, Arai Y, Love PE, Kako K, Fukamizu A, Muratani M, Shibuya A.
Title Themis2 regulates natural killer cell memory function and formation.
Journal Nat Commun
Abstract Immunological memory is a hallmark of the adaptive immune system. Although natural killer (NK) cells are innate immune cells important for the immediate host defence, they can differentiate into memory NK cells. The molecular mechanisms controlling this differentiation are yet to be fully elucidated. Here we identify the scaffold protein Themis2 as a critical regulator of memory NK cell differentiation and function. Themis2-deficient NK cells expressing Ly49H, an activating NK receptor for the mouse cytomegalovirus (MCMV) antigen m157, show enhanced differentiation into memory NK cells and augment host protection against MCMV infection. Themis2 inhibits the effector function of NK cells after stimulation of Ly49H and multiple activating NK receptors, though not specific to memory NK cells. Mechanistically, Themis2 suppresses Ly49H signalling by attenuating ZAP70/Syk phosphorylation, and it also translocates to the nucleus, where it promotes Zfp740-mediated repression to regulate the persistence of memory NK cells. Zfp740 deficiency increases the number of memory NK cells and enhances the effector function of memory NK cells, which further supports the relevance of the Themis2-Zfp740 pathway. In conclusion, our study shows that Themis2 quantitatively and qualitatively regulates NK cell memory formation.
Volume 14(1)
Pages 7200
Published 2023-11-8
DOI 10.1038/s41467-023-42578-8
PII 10.1038/s41467-023-42578-8
PMID 37938555
PMC PMC10632368
MeSH Animals Antigens, Viral* Cell Differentiation Cytomegalovirus Killer Cells, Natural Mice Muromegalovirus* Phosphorylation
IF 12.121
Resource
Human and Animal Cells 293gp(RCB2354)