Semaphorin-3E (Sema-3E) is a member of the Semaphorin family that plays important regulatory roles in nervous and immune system. Natural Killer (NK) and dendritic cells (DC) are immune cell types that mediate/shape innate and adaptive immunity. The role of Sema-3E in regulating NK cell biology has not been reported.
I first demonstrated that IL-2 activated NK cells expressed Sema-3E receptors on cell surface. I compared NK migratory responses towards conditioned media of DC (immature, LPS- or Poly I:C stimulated) derived from Sema-3E+/+ or Sema-3E-/- mice. Of interest, I observed that activated NK cells exhibited a two-fold increase in the migrations toward immature Sema-3E -/- DC conditioned medium when compared to that of the immature Sema-3E+/+ DC. My work revealed a novel role of Sema-3E in limiting NK-cell migrations toward immature DC in NK-DC crosstalk. Future delineations of the impact and signaling of the Sema-3E pathway in NK-DC crosstalk may support novel development of immunotherapy for cancer and infectious diseases.