The transcription factor Rfx7 limits metabolism of NK cells promoting their maintenance and immunity

Regulatory factor X 7 (Rfx7) is an uncharacterized member of a family of transcription factors playing essential functions in ciliogenesis and immunity. Given the prominent expression of Rfx7 in lymphoid organs, we generated mice with Rfx7-deletion in the hematopoietic compartment. We assessed the function of Rfx7 in natural killer cells, which are innate lymphoid cells that protect from viral infections and cancer. By comparing the transcriptome of Rfx7-deficient and control NK cells isolated from bone marrow and spleen, we identified negative regulators of cell metabolism among the genes regulated by this transcription factor. There are 12 NK cells samples profiles for transcriptomics by RNA sequencing. NK cells come either from spleen or bone marrow, and are either RFX7 wild-type (from Vavicre Rfx7wt/wt mice) or knock-out (from Vavicre Rfx7fl/fl mice) (in triplicate for each condition).