Transcriptional control of NK cell metabolism

Project Summary Natural killer (NK) cells comprise an important arm of the host innate immune system that detects and eliminates virus-infected cells. Newborns and immune-compromised patients lacking NK cells are extremely susceptible to viral infection.

In particular, human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) can cause severe health complications or be life-threatening in these individuals. Mouse cytomegalovirus (MCMV) is an accurate and robust model for investigating NK cell responses against HCMV.

Using MCMV infection in mice, we have discovered that NK cells possess novel adaptive immune features such as clonal expansion and long-lived memory.

In the past decade, our laboratory has uncovered many of the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying NK cell memory.

Our long-term goals are to understand the general biology of NK cells, and the molecular basis by which these powerful innate lymphocytes can mediate protection against pathogen invasion.

To this end, we have recently identified several transcriptional and metabolic pathways that may influence the NK cell response against MCMV infection.

Based on this exciting preliminary data, our current R01 grant proposes to use cutting edge metabolomics and newly engineered transgenic mouse models to study how metabolism in antiviral NK cells in transcriptionally regulated.

In Aim 1, we seek to understand how proinflammatory cytokines and the STAT family of transcription factors control of NK cell metabolism during MCMV infection.

In Aim 2, we will determine the requirement for aerobic glycolysis and fatty acid oxidation in antiviral NK cells using conditional ablation of genes encoding LDHA and CPT1a, respectively.

In Aim 3, we will determine whether the transcription factor Bhlhe40 regulates mitochondrial metabolism and fitness in effector NK cells fighting MCMV infection.

Altogether, the studies in this R01 proposal will greatly increase our understanding of the underlying transcriptional and metabolic mechanisms whereby NK cells contribute to host defense during viral infection, and establish novel translational paradigms for harnessing the NK cell compartment for immunization and therapeutic strategies against infectious diseases.