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NK cells in liver homeostasis and viral hepatitis

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Abstract

As an important member of the innate immune system, natural killer (NK) cells are well known for their rapid and efficient immune responses against infectious agents and tumors. NK cells are widely distributed throughout the body and are particularly enriched within the liver, where they display unique phenotypic and functional properties, playing important roles in various liver diseases. Herein, we present an overview of liver NK cell properties with regard to phenotype, function, and subset composition at steady state, and we also summarize the complex reciprocal interactions between liver NK cells and other cell types within the local environment of the liver. We also provide an overview of recent advances demonstrating the roles of NK cells in viral hepatitis, including a discussion of NK cell altered states and their beneficial versus harmful effects during hepatitis B virus and hepatitis C virus infection.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81788101, 81761128013, 31390433, 81571522, 91642105, 91542114, 91542000) and Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDPB030301).

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  1. Division of Molecular Medicine, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, the CAS Key Laboratory of Innate Immunity and Chronic Disease, School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230027, China

    Hui Peng & Zhigang Tian

  2. Institute of Immunology, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230027, China

    Hui Peng & Zhigang Tian

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  1. Hui Peng
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  2. Zhigang Tian
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Correspondence to Hui Peng or Zhigang Tian.

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Peng, H., Tian, Z. NK cells in liver homeostasis and viral hepatitis. Sci. China Life Sci. 61, 1477–1485 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11427-018-9407-2

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