Frontline Science: IL-18 primes murine NK cells for proliferation by promoting protein synthesis, survival, and autophagy

Journal of Leukocyte Biology: An Official Publication of the Reticuloendothelial Society

article

Yosif El-Darawish¹  Wen Li¹  Kyosuke Yamanishi²  Magdalena Pencheva¹  Naoto Oka⁵  Hiromichi Yamanishi³  Tomohiro Matsuyama⁶  Yoshimasa Tanaka⁷  Nagahiro Minato⁸  Haruki Okamura¹ 

[1] Laboratory of Tumor Immunology and Cell Therapy, Hyogo College of Medicine;Department of Neuropsychiatry, Hyogo College of Medicine;Hirakata General Hospital for Developmental Disorders;Department of Medical Biology, Medical Faculty, Medical University of Sofia;Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Hyogo College of Medicine;Institute for Advanced Medical Sciences, Hyogo College of Medicine;Center for Bioinformatics and Molecular Medicine, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki University;Department of Immunology and Cell Biology, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University

关键词: IL-18;    interleukin 18;    natural killer cells;    NFkB;    transcription factors;    cell proliferation;    autophagy;    cell survival;    IL-2 receptors;    cell activation;    cytotoxicity;    cancer;   

DOI  :  10.1002/JLB.1HI1017-396RR

学科分类：生理学

来源: Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology

【 摘 要 】

Combined stimulation by IL-2 and IL-18 effectively promotes proliferation of NK cells, whereas singular stimulation does not. In this study, synergistic effects of these cytokines on NK cells proliferation was analyzed, focusing on the roles of IL-18. In splenic resting NK cells from IL-18KO mice, IL-18 rapidly activated NF-?B independently of IL-2, and activated or up-regulated various molecules downstream of PI3K/AKT and mTOR, including S6, Bcl-XL, ATG5, and LC3II, accompanying increases in cell growth and survival. Thus, IL-18 alone was revealed to augment various cellular processes (gene transcription, protein synthesis, survival) in the absence or presence of IL-2. Notably, combined IL-18 and IL-2 promoted autophagosome formation. In addition, priming NK cells with IL-18 augmented IL-2R, especially CD25, and enabled cells to respond to IL-2, resulting in activation of STAT3 and STAT5, followed by increase of cyclin B1 leading to proliferation. However, IL-2 alone failed to activate STAT3 or STAT5 in resting IL18KO NK cells. These results clarify the distinct roles of IL-2 and IL-18 in NK cell proliferation, and the intrinsic roles of IL-18 in various cellular processes, suggesting a range of functions of IL-18 expressed in an array of nonhematopoietic cells.

【 授权许可】

CC BY