Nature Communications (Sep 2021)

Metabolic requirements of NK cells during the acute response against retroviral infection

  • Elisabeth Littwitz-Salomon,
  • Diana Moreira,
  • Joe N. Frost,
  • Chloe Choi,
  • Kevin T. Liou,
  • David K. Ahern,
  • Simon O’Shaughnessy,
  • Bernd Wagner,
  • Christine A. Biron,
  • Hal Drakesmith,
  • Ulf Dittmer,
  • David K. Finlay

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-25715-z
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 12, no. 1
pp. 1 – 16

Abstract

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Metabolic alterations control the fate and function of immune cells in response to infections, but the function of NK cell metabolism in the context of acute viral infections is unclear. Here the authors show that acute NK cell responses to Friend retrovirus involve increased glycolysis and mitochondrial metabolism and require amino acid transport as well as iron sufficiency.