Peptide-specific recognition of human cytomegalovirus strains controls adaptive natural killer cells

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Item Type:	Article
Title:	Peptide-specific recognition of human cytomegalovirus strains controls adaptive natural killer cells
Creators Name:	Hammer, Q., Rückert, T., Borst, E.M., Dunst, J., Haubner, A., Durek, P., Heinrich, F., Gasparoni, G., Babic, M., Tomic, A., Pietra, G., Nienen, M., Blau, I.W., Hofmann, J., Na, I.K., Prinz, I., Koenecke, C., Hemmati, P., Babel, N., Arnold, R., Walter, J., Thurley, K., Mashreghi, M.F., Messerle, M. and Romagnani, C.
Abstract:	Natural killer (NK) cells are innate lymphocytes that lack antigen-specific rearranged receptors, a hallmark of adaptive lymphocytes. In some people infected with human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), an NK cell subset expressing the activating receptor NKG2C undergoes clonal-like expansion that partially resembles anti-viral adaptive responses. However, the viral ligand that drives the activation and differentiation of adaptive NKG2C(+) NK cells has remained unclear. Here we found that adaptive NKG2C(+) NK cells differentially recognized distinct HCMV strains encoding variable UL40 peptides that, in combination with pro-inflammatory signals, controlled the population expansion and differentiation of adaptive NKG2C(+) NK cells. Thus, we propose that polymorphic HCMV peptides contribute to shaping of the heterogeneity of adaptive NKG2C(+) NK cell populations among HCMV-seropositive people.
Keywords:	Cytomegalovirus, Cytomegalovirus Infections, Natural Killer Cells, NK Cell Lectin-Like Receptor Subfamily C, Viral Proteins
Source:	Nature Immunology
ISSN:	1529-2908
Publisher:	Nature Publishing Group
Volume:	19
Number:	5
Page Range:	453-463
Date:	May 2018
Official Publication:	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41590-018-0082-6
PubMed:	View item in PubMed

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