Ischemic Neurons Recruit Natural Killer Cells That Accelerate Brain Infarction

Department

neurobiology

Document Type

Article

Abstract

Brain ischemia and reperfusion activate the immune system. The abrupt development of brain ischemic lesions suggests that innate immune cells may shape the outcome of stroke. Natural killer (NK) cells are innate lymphocytes that can be swiftly mobilized during the earliest phases of immune responses, but their role during stroke remains unknown. Herein, we found that NK cells infiltrated the ischemic lesions of the human brain. In a mouse model of cerebral ischemia, ischemic neuron-derived fractalkine recruited NK cells, which subsequently determined the size of brain lesions in a T and B cell-independent manner. NK cell-mediated exacerbation of brain infarction occurred rapidly after ischemia via the disruption of NK cell tolerance, augmenting local inflammation and neuronal hyperactivity. Therefore, NK cells catalyzed neuronal death in the ischemic brain.

Publication Date

2-18-2014

Publication Title

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

ISSN

00278424

Volume

111

Issue

7

First Page

2704

Last Page

2709

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1073/pnas.1315943111

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