NK cells and cancer: you can teach innate cells new tricks

Natural killer (NK) cells are the prototype innate lymphoid cells endowed with potent cytolytic function that provide host defence against microbial infection and tumours. Here, we review evidence for the role of NK cells in immune surveillance against cancer and highlight new therapeutic approaches for targeting NK cells in the treatment of cancer

Bystander gene activation by a locus control region

Random assortment of genes within mammalian genomes establishes the potential for interference between neighboring genes with distinct transcriptional specificities. Long-range transcriptional controls further increase this potential. Exploring this problem is of fundamental importance to understanding gene regulation. In the human genome, the Igβ (CD79b) gene is situated between the pituitary-specific human growth hormone (hGH) gene and its locus control region (hGH LCR). Igβ protein is considered B-cell specific; its only known role is in B-cell receptor signaling. Unexpectedly, we found that hIgβ is transcribed at high levels in the pituitary. This Igβ transcription is dependent on pituitary-specific epigenetic modifications generated by the hGH LCR. In contrast, expression of Igβ at its native site in B cells is independent of hGH LCR activity. These studies demonstrated that a gene with tissue-restricted transcriptional determinants (B cell) can be robustly activated in an unrelated tissue (pituitary) due to fortuitous positioning within an active chromatin domain. This ‘bystander' gene activation pathway impacts on current concepts of tissue specificity and models of active chromatin domains