The immunoregulatory effects of NK cells: the role of TGF-beta and implications for autoimmunity

Abstract

The cytotoxic activities of natural killer (NK) cells--important in innate immunity--have received considerable attention, but NK cells also regulate T- and B-cell functions as well as hematopoiesis. Here, David Horwitz and colleagues focus on the capacity of NK cells to regulate antibody production positively and negatively, and in particular on the role of NK-cell transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta) in downregulation of B-cell activity.