title: Viewpoint: signal transduction during natural killer cell activation.
abstract: The various subsets of lymphocytes all express multisubunit immune recognition receptors. However, this viewpoint forwards the perspective that receptor ligation on natural killer (NK) cells initiates a subset of signaling events that are specifically linked to specialized cytotoxic lymphocyte functions. This includes roles for src-family protein tyrosine kinases and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase in coupling receptor stimulation to granule release and cell-mediated cytotoxicity. Novel receptors (e.g. receptors recognizing MHC class I, or carbohydrate domains) also clearly generate signals modulating NK cell activation. Emerging data also suggest that alternative modes of NK-cell-mediated killing (i.e. antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity vs. natural cytotoxicity) are regulated by distinct signaling pathways. Discussion is provided on the technological approaches that seem most likely to advance our understanding of how receptor-initiated signals in NK cells precisely control their cellular responses.
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, Mayo Clinic and Foundation, Rochester, Minn, USA.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Leibson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003602:Cytotoxicity, Immunologic; D006801:Humans; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000276:immunology*; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000276:immunology*