Abstract
Natural killer (NK) cells comprise one of the most abundant immune cell populations
in human liver and the nature and functions of these cells have been a focus of recent
interest. Here, we consider the possible roles of NK cells in diverse liver diseases,
concentrating on data from patient studies. NK cells can be protective, killing virally
infected and cancerous cells in the liver and limiting fibrosis by eliminating hepatic
stellate cells. However, they can also be deleterious, contributing to pathology in
viral hepatitis by killing hepatocytes and downregulating virus-specific T-cell responses.
It has recently emerged that a large fraction of hepatic NK cells constitute a distinct
liver-resident subset and we highlight the need to distinguish between circulating
and liver-resident NK cells in future studies. There is also a need for further investigation
into how NK cells are influenced by the liver microenvironment and what scope there
is to harness their immunotherapeutic potential.
Keywords
NK cells - liver residence - fibrosis - viral hepatitis - alcoholic liver disease
- non-alcoholic fatty liver disease - hepatocellular carcinoma - autoimmune - transplantation
