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. 2021 Jan 18;28(6):1900–1909. doi: 10.1038/s41418-020-00715-6

Fig. 7. A schematic for mTORC1 and mTORC2 spatiotemporal coordination of NK cell development by regulating E4BP4 and T-bet expression.

Fig. 7

Mature NK cells (mNK) are derived from common lymphoid progenitor cells (CLP) through multiple developmental stages, including NK progenitor cells (NKp) and immature NK cells (iNK). Immature NK cells can be further defined into CD27−CD11b− (DN) and CD27+CD11b− (CD27 SP) subsets, whereas mature NK cells include CD27+CD11b+ (DP) and CD27−CD11b+ (CD11b SP) subsets. mTORC1 is essential for the progression of iNK to mNK, while mTORC2 is required for early iNK transition. In terms of mechanisms, mTORC1 mainly promotes immature NK cell transition by inducing the expression of the master transcription factor E4BP4, while mTORC2 promotes T-bet expression along with mTORC1.