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The upside of natural killers

Nature Medicine volume 14, pages 1184–1185 (2008)Cite this article

Natural killer (NK) cells, originally so named because they have the capacity to kill other cells without activation, can be licensed and educated to regulate tissue homeostasis. This notion has recently been shown in reproduction—in both normal physiology by Hanna et al. and severe pathophysiology (preeclampsia) by Hiby et al.

A pregnant mother faces a potential quandary, as her growing fetus is semiallogeneic, but her immune system has to recognize the developing child as 'self' in order to not reject it. Thus, a well-orchestrated adaptation of the maternal immune system to the fetus is required to ensure a successful pregnancy. Recent studies have characterized a unique population of immune cells, the decidual NK (dNK) cells, as identified by their CD56high CD16− phenotype, that are involved in this adaptation1. These dNK cells comprise the largest population of immune cells during the first trimester of pregnancy in humans and can be found in close apposition to invasive trophoblast cells2—the cells derived from the fertilized egg that mediate implantation of the embryo into the mother's womb. Understanding the in vivo function of this distinct NK population, especially with regard to the suppression of immune rejection via the maternal immune system, poses a major challenge to not only reproductive immunologists but all immunologists.

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Figure 1: A schematic diagram illustrating decidual NK cells as switchboards, licensed and educated to control trophoblast invasion and vascular remodeling and to interact with dendritic cells within the framework of an 'immunostimulatory synapse'.

Kim Caesar

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicine, Khalil Karimi and Petra C. Arck are in the Brain Body Institute, McMaster University and St Joseph's Healthcare, 50 Charlton Street, Hamilton, L8N 4A6 Ontario, Canada.,

    Khalil Karimi & Petra C Arck

  2. Sandra M. Blois is in the Haematology Department, Royal Free and University College, 72 Huntley Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK.,

    Sandra M Blois

  3. Petra C. Arck and Sandra M. Blois are also at the Charité, University Medicine Berlin, Augustenburger Platz 1, 13353 Berlin, Germany. petra.arck@charite.de karimik@mcmaster.ca,

    Sandra M Blois & Petra C Arck

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  1. Khalil Karimi
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  3. Petra C Arck
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Karimi, K., Blois, S. & Arck, P. The upside of natural killers. Nat Med 14, 1184–1185 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/nm1108-1184

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