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Updated: Oct 29, 2025

Selective Harvesting of Marginating-hepatic Leukocytes
Published on: July 21, 2016
The role of natural killer cells in liver inflammation
A J Highton1, I S Schuster2,3, M A Degli-Esposti2,3
1Heinrich Pette Institute, Leibniz Institute for Experimental Virology, Hamburg, Germany.
Abstract:
The liver is an important immunological site that can promote immune tolerance or activation. Natural killer (NK) cells are a major immune subset within the liver, and therefore understanding their role in liver homeostasis and inflammation is crucial. Due to their cytotoxic function, NK cells are important in the immune response against hepatotropic viral infections but are also involved in the inflammatory processes of autoimmune liver diseases and fatty liver disease. Whether NK cells primarily promote pro-inflammatory or tolerogenic responses is not known for many liver diseases. Understanding the involvement of NK cells in liver inflammation will be crucial in effective treatment and future immunotherapeutic targeting of NK cells in these disease settings. Here, we explore the role that NK cells play in inflammation of the liver in the context of viral infection, autoimmunity and fatty liver disease.
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