Deconvoluting global cytokine signaling networks in natural killer cells

Cytokine signaling via signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) proteins is crucial for optimal antiviral responses of natural killer (NK) cells. However, the pleiotropic effects of both cytokine and STAT signaling preclude the ability to precisely attribute molecular changes to specific cytokine–STAT modules. Here, we employed a multi-omics approach to deconstruct and rebuild the complex interaction of multiple cytokine signaling pathways in NK cells. Proinflammatory cytokines and homeostatic cytokines formed a cooperative axis to commonly regulate global gene expression and to further repress expression induced by type I interferon signaling. These cytokines mediated distinct modes of epigenetic regulation via STAT proteins, and collective signaling best recapitulated global antiviral responses. The most dynamically responsive genes were conserved across humans and mice, which included a cytokine–STAT-induced cross-regulatory program. Thus, an intricate crosstalk exists between cytokine signaling pathways, which governs NK cell responses. Sun and colleagues provide a new resource, multi-omics analysis of NK cell Jak–STAT signaling in response to the cytokines IL-2, IL-15, IL-12, IL-18 and IFN-α, showing synergistic and antagonistic interactions that govern NK cell activity.