Abstract
Once sentence summary CD38 is responsible for the enhanced immune responses of NK cells to influenza virus infection during pregnancy through immune synapse formation.
Abstract Pregnant women are particularly susceptible to complications of influenza A virus infection, which may result from pregnancy-induced changes in the function of immune cells, including natural killer (NK) cells. To decipher mechanisms driving enhanced NK cell activity during pregnancy, we profiled NK cells from pregnant and non-pregnant women, which showed significantly increased CD38 expression during pregnancy. CD38 expression defines a phenotypically distinct and mature subset of NK cells that display increased ability to secrete IFN-γ and to kill influenza-infected and tumor cells. This enhanced function is based on the ability of CD38 to promote the formation of the NK cell immune synapse. Thus, increased CD38 expression directly promotes enhanced NK cell responses during pregnancy through its role in immune synapse formation. These findings open new avenues in immunotherapeutic development for cancer and viruses by revealing a critical role for CD38 in the formation of the NK cell immune synapse.
