Self versus non-self discrimination is a central theme in biology from plants to vertebrates, and is particularly relevant for lymphocytes that express receptors capable of recognizing self-tissues and foreign invaders. Comprising the third largest lymphocyte population, natural killer (NK) cells recognize and kill cellular targets and produce pro-inflammatory cytokines. These potentially self-destructive effector functions can be controlled by inhibitory receptors for the polymorphic major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecules that are ubiquitously expressed on target cells. However, inhibitory receptors are not uniformly expressed on NK cells, and are germline-encoded by a set of polymorphic genes that segregate independently from MHC genes. Therefore, how NK-cell self-tolerance arises in vivo is poorly understood. Here we demonstrate that NK cells acquire functional competence through 'licensing' by self-MHC molecules. Licensing involves a positive role for MHC-specific inhibitory receptors and requires the cytoplasmic inhibitory motif originally identified in effector responses. This process results in two types of self-tolerant NK cells--licensed or unlicensed--and may provide new insights for exploiting NK cells in immunotherapy. This self-tolerance mechanism may be more broadly applicable within the vertebrate immune system because related germline-encoded inhibitory receptors are widely expressed on other immune cells.

Natural killer (NK) cells develop in the bone marrow, but their in vivo stages of maturation, expansion and acquisition of receptors that guide target cell specificity are not well defined. We describe here such stages of development. We also show that developing NK cells actively proliferate at a phenotypically distinguishable immature stage after they have acquired expression of Ly49 and CD94-NKG2 receptors. These studies provide a developmental framework for NK cell maturation in vivo and suggest the possible involvement of the Ly49 and CD94-NKG2 receptors themselves in modulating expansion of NK cell populations with a given NK cell receptor repertoire.

Natural interferon-producing cells (IPC) respond to viruses by secreting type I interferon (IFN) and interleukin-12 (IL-12). Toll-like receptor (TLR) 9 mediates IPC recognition of some of these viruses in vitro. However, whether TLR9-induced activation of IPC is necessary for an effective antiviral response in vivo is not clear. Here, we demonstrate that IPC and dendritic cells (DC) recognize murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) through TLR9. TLR9-mediated cytokine secretion promotes viral clearance by NK cells that express the MCMV-specific receptor Ly49H. Although depletion of IPC leads to a drastic reduction of the IFN-alpha response, this allows other cell types to secrete IL-12, ensuring normal IFN-gamma and NK cell responses to MCMV. We conclude that the TLR9/MyD88 pathway mediates antiviral cytokine responses by IPC, DC, and possibly other cell types, which are coordinated to promote effective NK cell function and MCMV clearance.

Natural killer (NK) cells play important roles in immunological processes, including early defense against viral infections. This review provides an overview of the dynamic in vivo life of NK cells from their development in the bone marrow to their mature peripheral responses and their ultimate demise, with particular emphasis on mouse NK cells and viral infections.