Group: NK cell and ILC1 Biology

Our team is interested in the development and functions of Natural Killer cells and ILC1s. NK cells have been ‘accidentally’ identified almost 40 years ago based on their ability to spontaneously lyse tumor cells in vitro. Now we know that Natural Killer cells represent a subset of Innate Lymphoid Cells (ILC) with unique functional attributes that go beyond tumoricidal activities. Thus, NK cells are involved in immune responses not only to tumors but also to various viral and microbial pathogens. This large portfolio of immune activities can be attributed to both, the direct recognition of stressed or transformed cells by NK cells, and the regulation of other hematopoietic cells during inflammation. We are interested in dissecting the pathways controlling the various functions of NK cells. For that, we have developed a model system that allows to conditionally delete any given target gene in these cells. As such we can study the role that the target gene plays for the activity of NK cells in various immune responses. ILC1s have been initially described as immature NK cells residing in the liver, but more recent analyses revealed that they represent tissue-resident innate lymphocytes distinct from the NK cell lineage although they share striking phenotypic similarities with NK cells. Like NK cells, they belong to the group 1 of innate lymphocytes based on their expression of the transcription factor T-bet and their capacity to produce the pro-inflammatory cytokine IFNγ upon stimulation. The function of these cells in immune responses to tumors or microbial pathogens remains elusive.