Hobit Drives Killer Cell Specialization

A research team at the Julius-Maximilians University in Germany has shown how the Hobit transcription factor drives specialization to mature effector cells. "We wanted to understand how immature ILCs become effector cells that can, for example, kill tumor cells or fight infections with the help of cytokines," explained lead researcher Georg Gasteiger about the study published in Nature Immunology. 

The scientists began by studying the group of ILC1s that play a role in viral infections and in tumor defense. Then, they recorded all mRNA molecules of individual ILC1s in the liver and created a virtual cell atlas from these analyses.

Based on these molecular fingerprints, the researchers identified specialized cells within the ILC1 that share their tasks, "We found cells that can multiply very quickly and thus provide for replenishment of ILCs. In the process, they specialize into helper or killer ILCs," added Gasteiger. 

"Until now, it was thought that these cells were different types of ILCs," said first author Christin Friedrich. "But our data shows that there are different degrees of specialization that can arise in each organ from the same supply troops."