ORCID
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2617-7571
Date of Award
Spring 5-15-2020
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Degree Type
Dissertation
Abstract
Natural killer cells and Type I innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) are subsets of ILCs. In C57BL/6 mice, they share expression of the surface markers NK1. 1 and NKp46, and can produce the cytokine interferon-gamma. These similarities led to the initial classification of natural killer cells and Type I ILCs together under the category of Group 1 ILCs. However, more recent studies found that natural killer cells and ILC1s develop from distinct progenitor cells and utilize transcription factor in distinct manners. Whereas ILC1s require Tbet for their development and are Eomes-independent, natural killer cells require Tbet only for terminal maturation and are Eomes-dependent. As such, these populations were reclassified as separate ILC subsets. In the context of Toxoplasma gondii infection, we identified a new population that blurs these strict delineations. Our data suggest that T. gondii induces the development of ILC1-like cells that primarily result from the downregulation of Eomes and the upregulation of Tbet. We further validated these findings with epigenomic profiling and single-cell RNA sequencing.
Language
English (en)
Chair and Committee
Wayne M. Yokoyama
Committee Members
Marina Cella, Marco Colonna, Megan Cooper, Gwendolyn Randolph,
Recommended Citation
Park, Eugene, "Effects of Toxoplasma gondii Infection on NK Cells and ILC1s" (2020). Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 2228.
https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/art_sci_etds/2228
Included in
Allergy and Immunology Commons, Immunology and Infectious Disease Commons, Medical Immunology Commons