Extended Data Fig. 8: Irf4 deficiency in NKP cells renders mature NK cells less prone to exhaustion.
From: IRF4 expression by NK precursors predetermines exhaustion of NK cells during tumor metastasis
(a and b) Rag2−/−γc−/− mice were transferred with a 1:1 mixture of CD45.1+ WT NKP and CD45.2+ Irf4−/− NKP cells. Two weeks later, the mice were intravenously injected with B16-F10 cells. Splenic NK cells derived from the transferred NKP cells were analyzed 14 days after B16-F10 injection. Shown are the percentages of WT and Irf4–/– NK cells among total splenic NK cells (a) and the percentages of TIGIT+ cells within WT and Irf4–/– NK cells (b). For a: n = 3 mice, ***P = 0.0002; for b: n = 4 mice, ***P = 0.0008. (c) Lethally irradiated Rag1−/− mice were reconstituted with a 1:1 mixture of CD45.1+ WT BM and CD45.2+ Irf4–/– BM cells. Six weeks later, the mice were injected with B16-F10 cells. NK cells derived from the transferred BM NKP cells were analyzed 25 days after B16-F10 injection. The top flow plots show the percentages of WT and Irf4–/– NK cells, and the bottom flow plots show TIGIT expression in WT and Irf4–/– NK cells in the indicated tissues. The bar graph shows the percentages of TIGIT+ cells within WT and Irf4–/– NK cells. n = 6 mice; from left to right: ****P < 0.0001 ****P < 0.0001, *P = 0.0162, ****P < 0.0001, ****P < 0.0001. Data are presented as mean ± SD. Data were analyzed by a two-tailed unpaired Student’s t-test.
