Styk1 expression is a hallmark of murine NK cells and other NK1.1 + subsets but is dispensable for NK-cell development and effector functions

Abstract

To gain insight into the biology of NK cells, others and we previously identified the NK-cell signature, defined as the set of transcripts which expression is highly enriched in these cells compared to other immune subtypes. The transcript encoding the Serine/threonine/tyrosine kinase 1 (Styk1) is part of this signature. However, the role of Styk1 in the immune system is unknown. Here, we report the generation of a novel transgenic mouse model, in which Styk1 expression is invalidated and replaced by an EGFP reporter cassette. We demonstrated that Styk1 expression is a hallmark of NK cells and other NK1.1 expressing cells such as liver type 1 innate lymphoid cells (ILC1) and NK1.1 + γδ T cells. Styk1 expression is maintained by IL-15 in NK cells and negatively correlates with the expression of educating NK-cell receptors. Analysis of phosphorylation levels of mTOR substrates suggested that Styk1 could moderately contribute to the activity of the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway. However, Styk1-deficient NK cells develop normally and have normal in vitro and in vivo effector functions. Thus Styk1 expression is a hallmark of NK cells, ILC1 and NK1.1 + T cells but is dispensable for their development and immune functions.