Respiratory diseases are one of the major causes of death worldwide. With the developing technique and immunosuppressive treatment approaches, the number of lung transplant operations has increased. Unfortunately, despite improvements in lung transplantation, the life expectancy of lung transplant recipients has not improved as much as with other solid organ transplants. Rejection of transplanted lung is generally caused by immune responses. Thence, researchers focus on transplantation immunology for improving the results of lung transplantations. The innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) are recently identified immune cells and investigators have focused heavily on these cells over the last years. ILCs are playing various roles in immune responses by expressing inflammatory cytokines or producing ligands. The properties of ILCs are being investigated in the pathogenesis of different diseases such as cancer, autoimmune diseases, and transplantation rejections. This review discusses the roles and potential roles of ILCs in lung transplantation tolerance or in transplantation failures such as primary graft dysfunction, chronic lung rejection, and acute lung rejection.

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