Recent studies on natural killer(NK)cells have challenged the dogma that immunological memory is a phenomenon restricted to the adaptive immune system.Specific interactions between the NK cell receptor Ly49H and the murine cytomegalovirus virus(MCMV)-encoded glycoprotein m157 result in selective expansion of the Ly49H+NK cell subpopulation and the establishment of a long-lived memory-like population.1–3 Further,memory NK cells show augmented IFNγresponses,and transfer of the memory population into naive mice confers enhanced protection against infection-induced mortality.1 These observations along with cytotoxicity and cytokine secretion functions that overlap with CD8 T cells have led to the description of NK cells as a bridge between the innate and adaptive immune systems.
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