Natural killer (NK) cells are observed at the site of infection immediately after Mtb infection (Junqueira-Kipnis et al., 2003), and are increasingly recognized as a key component of the innate immune response linking innate and adaptive immunity (Gabrielli et al., 2016; Choreño Parra et al., 2017). NK cells are potent producers of IFN-γ that promote DC maturation and stimulate naïve T cell differentiation into Th1 cells (Pan et al., 2004; Frasca et al., 2008; Ferlazzo and Morandi, 2014). Here, IFNG is linked to infection.