NK Cell Development in Times of Innate Lymphoid Cell Diversity

After being described in the 1970s as cytotoxic cells that do not require MHC-dependent pre-activation, natural killer (NK) cells remained the sole member of innate lymphocytes for decades until lymphoid tissue-inducer cells in the 1990s and helper-like innate lymphoid lineages from 2008 onward completed the picture of innate lymphoid cell (ILC) diversity. Since some of the ILC members, such as ILC1s and CCR6(−) ILC3s, share specific markers previously used to identify NK cells, these findings provoked the question of how to delineate the development of NK cell and helper-like ILCs and how to properly identify and genetically interfere with NK cells. The description of eomesodermin (EOMES) as a lineage-specifying transcription factor of NK cells provided a candidate that may serve as a selective marker for the genetic targeting and identification of NK cells. Unlike helper-like ILCs, NK cell activation is, to a large degree, regulated by the engagement of activating and inhibitory surface receptors. NK cell research has revealed some elegant mechanisms of immunosurveillance, coined “missing-self” and “induced-self” recognition, thus complementing “non-self recognition”, which is predominantly utilized by adaptive lymphocytes and myeloid cells. Notably, the balance of activating and inhibitory signals perceived by surface receptors can be therapeutically harnessed for anti-tumor immunity mediated by NK cells. This review aims to summarize the similarities and the differences in development, function, localization, and phenotype of NK cells and helper-like ILCs, with the purpose to highlight the unique feature of NK cell development and regulation.