NKG2A is a NK cell exhaustion checkpoint for HCV persistence, Nature Comm, 03 Apr 2019

Nature Communications, 03 April, 2019， DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-09212-y

NKG2A is a NK cell exhaustion checkpoint for HCV persistence

Chao Zhang, Xiao-mei Wang, Shu-ran Li, Trix Twelkmeyer, Wei-hong Wang, Sheng-yuan Zhang, Shu-feng Wang, Ji-zheng Chen, Xia Jin, Yu-zhang Wu, Xin-wen Chen, Sheng-dian Wang, Jun-qi Niu, Hai-rong Chen & Hong Tang

Abstract

Exhaustion of cytotoxic effector natural killer (NK) and CD8⁺ T cells have important functions in the establishment of persistent viral infections, but how exhaustion is induced during chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection remains poorly defined. Here we show, using the humanized C/O^Tg mice permissive for persistent HCV infection, that NK and CD8⁺ T cells become sequentially exhausted shortly after their transient hepatic infiltration and activation in acute HCV infection. HCV infection upregulates Qa-1 expression in hepatocytes, which ligates NKG2A to induce NK cell exhaustion. Antibodies targeting NKG2A or Qa-1 prevents NK exhaustion and promotes NK-dependent HCV clearance. Moreover, reactivated NK cells provide sufficient IFN-γ that helps rejuvenate polyclonal HCV CD8⁺ T cell response and clearance of HCV. Our data thus show that NKG2A serves as a critical checkpoint for HCV-induced NK exhaustion, and that NKG2A blockade sequentially boosts interdependent NK and CD8⁺ T cell functions to prevent persistent HCV infection.

文章链接：https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-09212-y