Natural killer cell receptor signaling and activation depend on cell cycle stages.

NKG2D receptor signaling kinetics in NK cells vary by cell cycle stage, with the largest CD107a upregulation observed in G2+M phase.

• Why it matters: Understanding how cell cycle stages influence NK cell signaling is crucial for comprehending immune responses and could inform therapeutic strategies targeting NK cells in infection and cancer.
• What they did: Researchers used longitudinal CyTOF measurements on IL-2-treated primary human CD56dim NK cells stimulated with NKG2D, analyzing signaling proteins up to 256 minutes post-stimulation, and developed computational models to explore the relationship.
• The result: Signaling proteins such as pVav1, pErk, and pS6 showed stage-specific kinetics, suggesting that active modulation by cell cycle progression influences NK cell receptor signaling, providing a framework for studying similar interactions in other cell types.