NK cell receptors: Of missing sugar and missing self

NK cell receptors: Of missing sugar and missing self

Natural killer cells in mice detect cells in distress using lectin-like receptors that bind to self-MHC class I molecules. A new co-crystal structure suggests how NK cell maturation and attack may be mediated by receptor interaction at two distinct sites on the MHC class I molecule, both involving glycosylation.

NK cell self tolerance, responsiveness and missing self recognition.

Natural killer (NK) cells represent a first line of defense against pathogens and tumor cells. The activation of NK cells is regulated by the integration of signals deriving from activating and inhibitory receptors expressed on their surface. However, different NK cells respond differently to the same stimulus, be it target cells or agents that crosslink activating receptors. The processes that...

Activation by SLAM Family Receptors Contributes to NK Cell Mediated “Missing-Self” Recognition

Natural Killer (NK) cells attack normal hematopoietic cells that do not express inhibitory MHC class I (MHC-I) molecules, but the ligands that activate NK cells remain incompletely defined. Here we show that the expression of the Signaling Lymphocyte Activation Molecule (SLAM) family members CD48 and Ly9 (CD229) by MHC-I-deficient tumor cells significantly contributes to NK cell activation. Whe...

Missing self, NK cells, and The White Album.

Missing self recognition and self tolerance of natural killer (NK) cells.

Natural killer cells express inhibitory receptors specific for polymorphic MHC molecules, which enables them to mediate "missing self recognition", the capacity to attack self cells that extinguish expression of MHC class I molecules. A key question is: how are NK cells rendered self-tolerant? It was proposed that all NK cells express at least one inhibitory receptor specific for self MHC, but ...