Roles for NK Cells and ILC1 in Inflammation and Infection

International audienceAlmost four decades ago, human and mouse “natural killer” (NK) cells were discovered thanks to their capacity to spontaneously lyze tumor cells in vitro. Subsequently, the role for NK cells in immune defense against microbial pathogens has been fully established, in part due to clinical observations in patients suffering recurrent viral infections that resulted from NK cell deficiencies (NKD). Together, these studies underscore the importance of NK cells in promoting human health. The recent identification of “non‐NK” innate lymphoid cells (group 1 ILC or ILC1) that have a phenotypic and functional overlap with “conventional” NK cells extends the family of innate effector cells that can participate in immune responses. Nevertheless, this NK‐ILC1 dichotomy raises new questions regarding the specific versus redundant roles for these cells in defense against microbial pathogens and in tissue immunosurveillance