The Ninth Killer Cell Immunoglobulin-Like Receptor (KIR) Workshop was held in Winchester, UK late in the summer of 2015. The extraordinary diversity of KIR and its functional consequences were key themes throughout the meeting. Novel sequencing technologies and new bioinformatics techniques continue to increase our understanding of the genetic diversity and evolution of the KIR; while a deeper ...

The killer cell inhibitory receptors (KIR) of human natural killer (NK) cells recognize human leukocyte antigen class I molecules and inhibit NK cell cytotoxicity through their interaction with protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTP). Here, we report that KIR recognition of class I ligands inhibits distal signaling events and ultimately NK cell cytotoxicity by blocking the association of an adaptor...

Variegated expression of inhibitory killer cell Ig-like receptors (KIRs) for MHC class I molecules helps NK cells distinguish normal from aberrant self and avoid autoreactivity. Prior studies of KIR promoters have produced conflicting results and no cis-acting sites have been independently confirmed. We took a comprehensive linker-scanning mutagenesis approach and substituted 24 consecutive 10-...

Rat and human cDNAs were isolated that both encoded a 360 amino acid polypeptide with a tertiary structure typical of inwardly rectifying K+ channel (Kir) subunits. The new proteins, termed Kir7.1, were <37% identical to other Kir subunits and showed various unique residues at conserved sites, particularly near the pore region. High levels of Kir7.1 transcripts were detected in rat brain, lung,...

INTRODUCTION In addition to their important role in fighting infection, natural killer cells are cytotoxic to cancer cells. Studies demonstrated that some KIR genes were responsible for the reduction of the risk of Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) while others were associated with an increased risk of HL. AIM The aim of this study is to assess KIR genotypic distribution in Lebanese patients with Hodgk...

We investigated the involvement of potassium inward rectifier current (Kir) impairment in smooth muscle cells of cerebral arteries under the condition of increased susceptibility of stroke, in spontaneously hypertensive stroke-prone (SHRsp) rats compared to spontaneously hypertensive (SHR) ones as well as to controls (WKY). Kir current was studied with whole-cell patch-clamp techniques on fresh...

To determine the influence of KIR and HLA class I polymorphism on human NK cell repertoires, 32 different clonotypes representing all possible combinations of 4 inhibitory KIR and NKG2A were analyzed by multicolor flow cytometry. In donors homozygous for the common group A KIR haplotype, a significant influence of HLA-C ligands was seen: KIR repertoires were dominated by clonotypes expressing a...

The killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIR) play a fundamental role in the innate immune system, through their interactions with human leucocyte antigen (HLA) molecules, leading to the modulation of activity in natural killer (NK) cells, mainly related to killing pathogen-infected cells. KIR genes are hugely polymorphic both in the number of genes an individual carries and in the number...

HLA-specific killer cell inhibitory receptors (KIR) are thought to impede natural killer (NK) and T cell activation programs through recruitment of the SH2 domain-containing tyrosine phosphatases, SHP-1 and SHP-2, to their cytoplasmic tails (CYT). To identify other SH2 domain-containing proteins that bind KIR CYT, we used the recently described yeast two-bait interaction trap and a modified ver...

The inhibitory killer cell Ig-like receptors (KIR) negatively regulate NK cell cytotoxicity by activating the Src homology 2 domain-containing protein tyrosine phosphatases 1 and 2 following ligation with MHC class I molecules expressed on normal cells. This requires tyrosine phosphorylation of KIR on ITIMs in the cytoplasmic domain. Surprisingly, we have found that KIR3DL1 is strongly and cons...