Killer-cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIR) are a family of inhibitory and activating receptors that are expressed mainly by natural killer cells. The KIR gene family is highly polymorphic, and its genomic diversity is achieved through differences in gene content as well as allelic polymorphism. The number of KIR loci has been reported to be various among individuals and therefore resulting...

Newcastle disease virus (NDV) is responsible for tumoricidal activity in vitro and in vivo. However, the mechanisms that lead to this activity are unclear. Natural killer cells are able to induce apoptosis of tumor cells through multiple pathways, including the tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand-death receptor pathway. We previously showed that exposure of NK and T cells to...

STAT5 is a transcription factor essential for hematopoietic physiology. STAT5 functions to transduce signals from cytokines to the nucleus where it regulates gene expression. Although several important transcriptional targets of STAT5 are known, most remain unidentified. To identify novel STAT5 targets, we searched chromosomes 21 and 22 for clusters of STAT5 binding sites contained within regio...

Natural killer cells (NK cells) play a key role in cancer immunosurveillance. However, their activity is highly dependent upon their maturation stage, which in turn relates to organ distribution. Here, we discuss the role of intrinsic master transcription factors and extrinsic IL-15 signaling on NK cell-mediated immune protection against murine pulmonary metastasis.

We analyzed killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptor (KIR) gene polymorphisms and genotype and haplotype characteristics in the Uygur population, a non-nomadic ethnic group found in Xinjiang, China, to provide a basis for studies on relationships between KIRs and diseases in this group. Sequence-specific primer PCR was used to detect the KIR gene in 84 Uygur individuals. A standard genotype and...