Tissue-specific features of innate lymphoid cells in antiviral defense

Sytse J Piersma

doi:10.1038/s41423-024-01161-x

Tissue-specific features of innate lymphoid cells in antiviral defense

Cell Mol Immunol. 2024 Apr 29. doi: 10.1038/s41423-024-01161-x. Online ahead of print.

Author

Sytse J Piersma^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Division of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA. spiersma@wustl.edu.
² Siteman Cancer Center, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA. spiersma@wustl.edu.

PMID: 38684766
DOI: 10.1038/s41423-024-01161-x

Abstract

Innate lymphocytes (ILCs) rapidly respond to and protect against invading pathogens and cancer. ILCs include natural killer (NK) cells, ILC1s, ILC2s, ILC3s, and lymphoid tissue inducer (LTi) cells and include type I, type II, and type III immune cells. While NK cells have been well recognized for their role in antiviral immunity, other ILC subtypes are emerging as players in antiviral defense. Each ILC subset has specialized functions that uniquely impact the antiviral immunity and health of the host depending on the tissue microenvironment. This review focuses on the specialized functions of each ILC subtype and their roles in antiviral immune responses across tissues. Several viruses within infection-prone tissues will be highlighted to provide an overview of the extent of the ILC immunity within tissues and emphasize common versus virus-specific responses.

Keywords: NK cell; anti-viral immunity; innate lymphoid cell; tissue microenvironment; virus infection.

Publication types

Review