Transcriptome Analysis of Natural Killer Cells in Response to Newcastle Disease Virus Infected Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells

When tumor cells are infected by the Newcastle disease virus (NDV), the lysis of tumor cells by natural killer (NK) cells is enhanced, which may be related to the enhanced NK cell activation effect. To better understand the intracellular molecular mechanisms involved in NK cell activation, the transcriptome profiles of NK cells stimulated by NDV-infected hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells (NDV group) and control (NC group, NK cells stimulated by HCC cells) were analyzed. In total, we identified 1568 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the NK cells of the NDV group compared to the control, including 1389 upregulated and 179 downregulated genes. Functional analysis showed that DEGs were enriched in the immune system, signal transmission, cell growth, cell death, and cancer pathways. Notably, 9 genes from the IFN family were specifically increased in NK cells upon NDV infection and identified as potential prognosis markers for patients with HCC. A qRT-PCR experiment was used to confirm the differential expression of IFNG and the other 8 important genes. The results of this study will improve our understanding of the molecular mechanisms of NK cell activation.

Automated summary

When tumor cells are infected by the Newcastle disease virus (NDV), the lysis of tumor cell by natural killer (NK) cells is enhanced. Transcriptome analysis of NK cells stimulated by NDV-infected hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells identified 1568 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), including 1389 upregulated and 179 downregulated genes. Functional analysis revealed enrichment of DEGs in immune system, signal transmission, cell growth, cell death, and cancer pathways. Increased expression of 9 IFN family genes in NK cells upon NDV infection suggests their potential as prognosis markers for patients with HCC.