Cytotoxic Granzyme C Expressing ILC1s Contribute to Antitumor Immunity and Neonatal Autoimmunity
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ABSTRACT: Innate lymphocytes are integral components of the cellular immune system that coordinates host defense against a multitude of challenges and can trigger immunopathology when dysregulated. Natural killer (NK) cells and innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) are innate immune effectors postulated to functionally mirror conventional cytotoxic T lymphocytes and helper T cells, respectively. Here, we show that the cytolytic molecule granzyme C was surprisingly expressed in cells with the phenotype of type 1 ILCs (ILC1s) in mouse liver and salivary gland. Cell fate-mapping and transfer studies revealed that granzyme C-expressing innate lymphocytes could be derived from ILC progenitors and did not interconvert with NK cells, ILC2s, or ILC3s. Granzyme C defined a maturation state of ILC1s, which required the transcription factor T-bet and to a lesser extent Eomes specifically in the salivary gland for their maintenance. Furthermore, transforming growth factor-b (TGF-b) signaling promoted maintenance of granzyme C-expressing ILC1s in the salivary gland and in the tumor of a transgenic breast cancer model, and their depletion caused accelerated tumor growth. ILC1s gained granzyme C expression following interleukin-15 (IL-15) stimulation, which enabled perforin-mediated cytotoxicity. Strikingly, constitutive activation of the IL-15-regulated transcription factor Stat5 in granzyme C-fate-mapped ILC1s triggered lethal perforin-dependent autoimmunity in neonatal mice. Thus, granzyme C marks a cytotoxic effector state of ILC1s, broadening their function beyond ‘helper-like’ lymphocytes.
ORGANISM(S): Mus musculus
PROVIDER: GSE196716 | GEO | 2022/02/18
REPOSITORIES: GEO
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