Early signaling via inhibitory and activating NK receptors.
This review focuses on recent findings on the structural features of inhibitory NK cell receptors containing immunoreceptor tyrosine-based inhibition motif (ITIM) and of NK cell activating receptors, both in human and mouse. First, the study of the inhibitory killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIR) unveiled the presence of intracytoplasmic ITIM and their capacity to recruit protein tyrosine phosphatases such as SHP-1 in vivo. A brief summary of the known SHP-1 targets may help us to understand the inhibition mediated by the KIR. The characterization of ITIM thus allowed the definition of a large group of inhibitory cell surface receptors. The second part of the review describes the known NK cell activating receptors. Most of them require association with ITAM-containing polypeptides in order to mediate cell activation.
Bléry
M
M
Centre d'immunologie INSERM-CNRS de Marseille-Luminy, France. blery@ciml.univ-mrs.fr
Olcese
L
L
Vivier
E
E
D020816:Amino Acid Motifs; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000276:immunology*; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D051379:Mice; D018448:Models, Immunological; D011971:Receptors, Immunologic / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology*; D054340:Receptors, KIR; D015398:Signal Transduction
D011971:Receptors, Immunologic; D054340:Receptors, KIR