IMMUNOLOGY2026™ Conference Recordings For Attendees-Transcriptional programs controlling natural killer cell effector maturation and function

Transcriptional programs controlling natural killer cell effector maturation and function

Video Transcription

Video Summary

The speaker described lab work on natural killer (NK) cells, key innate immune cells important for fighting herpes viruses and leukemia and promising for off-the-shelf immunotherapy. The talk focused on the transcription factor ETS1, which is highly expressed in NK cells and appears to regulate their maturation, survival, and antiviral function. Using inducible ETS1 knockout mice, the lab found NK cells died faster, differentiated more quickly, produced less interferon-gamma, and responded poorly to murine CMV infection, with reduced expansion and activation. Single-cell RNA-seq and ATAC-seq showed widespread changes in gene expression and chromatin accessibility, including reduced STAT1 and STAT4 pathways. The speaker proposed that ETS1 helps balance NK-cell cytotoxic and antiviral programs and highlighted open questions about how signaling pathways integrate and how these findings could translate to human therapies.

Meta Tag

Date April 17, 2026 12:45 PM - 2:15 PM

Room 151

Session Novel Insights into Innate Lymphocyte Research: Challenges and Opportunities Across Human Health and Disease, Sponsored by NCI, NIH

Speaker Barbara Lynne Kee

Track Innate Immune Responses and Host Defense: Molecular Mechanisms (INM)

Year 2026

Keywords

natural killer cells

ETS1 transcription factor

NK cell maturation

interferon-gamma

murine CMV infection

single-cell RNA-seq

April 17, 2026 12:45 PM - 2:15 PM

151

Novel Insights into Innate Lymphocyte Research: Challenges and Opportunities Across Human Health and Disease, Sponsored by NCI, NIH

Barbara Lynne Kee

Innate Immune Responses and Host Defense: Molecular Mechanisms (INM)

2026