A novel role for reciprocal CD30-CD30L signaling in the cross-talk between natural killer and dendritic cells

The interplay between dendritic cells (DCs) and natural killer (NK) cells directs adaptive immune responses. The molecular basis of the cross-talk is largely undefined. Here, we provide evidence for a contribution of CD30 (TNFRSF8) and its ligand CD30L (TNFSF8) expressed on NK cells and DCs, respectively. We demonstrate that CD30-mediated engagement of CD30L induced cytokine secretion from immature DCs via the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway. Moreover, CD30L engagement promoted differentiation to mature DCs. On the contrary, the engagement of CD30 on NK cells resulted in an NF-kappa B-dependent release of TNF-alpha/IFN-gamma. These data uncover a novel and unexpected role for CD30/CD30L that contributes to proinflammatory immune responses.