# Sepsis alters NK cell transcriptional programs for stress, actin remodeling, and intracellular trafficking

## TL;DR

The study finds that sepsis changes NK cell gene activity related to stress, cell structure, and transport, which may explain their reduced function.

## Contribution

The study identifies specific transcriptional programs in NK cells altered during sepsis, linking them to DNA replication stress and ER stress.

## Key findings

- Sepsis NK cells show transcriptional signs of DNA replication and ER stress.
- Altered vesicle trafficking and cytoskeletal dynamics are observed in sepsis NK cells.
- Sepsis NK cells have impaired proliferative activity despite proliferation-related gene expression.

## Abstract

Natural killer (NK) cells exert cytotoxicity against transformed and infected cells. In human sepsis, a suppressive NK cell receptor signature and defective effector molecule expression have been described. However, the transcriptional mechanisms underlying this phenotype remain poorly defined.

We analyzed microarray-based transcriptomic profiles of isolated peripheral NK cells from patients with sepsis, patients with systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), and presurgical controls. Enrichment analyses of canonical pathways, biological processes, and cellular compartments were performed. Differential gene expression was validated in an independent cohort using a multiplex branched-DNA assay. Functional signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) phosphorylation responses ex vivo and proliferation marker expression were assessed by flow cytometry in independent patient samples.

NK cells from patients with sepsis displayed transcriptional signatures indicative of DNA replication stress, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, altered cytoskeletal dynamics, and vesicle trafficking. Despite enrichment of proliferation-associated transcriptional programs, NK cells showed no increase in Ki-67 expression, indicating impaired proliferative activity. In contrast, NK cells from patients with SIRS exhibited downregulation of immune signaling pathways.

This study identifies early stress-associated transcriptional programs and impaired subcellular organization in circulating NK cells during sepsis. Dysregulated DNA replication and ER stress responses, along with altered vesicle trafficking linked to impaired small guanosine triphosphatase (GTPase) signaling, may contribute to NK cell dysfunction in sepsis and may inform the development of NK cell-based immunotherapeutic strategies in critical illness.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s11658-025-00851-2.