The aryl hydrocarbon receptor is required for the maintenance of liver-resident natural killer cells.

ABSTRACT: A tissue-resident population of natural killer cells (NK cells) in the liver has recently been described to have the unique capacity to confer immunological memory in the form of hapten-specific contact hypersensitivity independent of T and B cells. Factors regulating the development and maintenance of these liver-resident NK cells are poorly understood. The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) is a transcription factor modulated by exogenous and endogenous ligands that is important in the homeostasis of immune cells at barrier sites, such as the skin and gut. In this study, we show that liver-resident NK (NK1.1⁺CD3^-) cells, defined as CD49a⁺TRAIL⁺CXCR6⁺DX5^- cells in the mouse liver, constitutively express AhR. In AhR^-/-

SUBMITTER: Zhang LH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5068230 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature