Understanding Class I MHC Receptor Control of Natural Killer Cell Memory

Adaptive immune memory is one of the most powerful weapons the body has to fight infections. It is how vaccines work: the immune system sees harmful, foreign matter, and T and B cells remember it so that the immune response is stronger and faster the next time that target is encountered. Surprisingly, natural killer cells, a cousin to the T cell, can also remember these targets, in a process we do not yet understand. We have previously demonstrated that this natural killer memory relies on a specific natural killer cell protein called Ly49I. This proposed research seeks to better understand what Ly49I does that allows memory in these cells, and to identify which other proteins and which helper cells contribute to natural killer memory. Understanding natural killer cell memory is exciting because it works through different mechanisms than T cell memory, so learning how this memory works will open a whole new field of study in immunology. It is also exciting because natural killer cells are experts at killing cancer, so understanding their memory could lead to novel cancer vaccines and therapies designed to prevent the recurrence of a dormant cancer.