title: Natural killer cell immune responses.
abstract: Natural killer (NK) cells play a vital role in innate immune responses to infection; they express activation receptors that recognize virus-infected cells. Highly related to receptors recognizing tumor cells, the activation receptors trigger cytotoxicity and cytokine production. NK cells also express inhibitory receptors for major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecules that block the action of the activation receptors. Although many ligands for NK cell receptors have MHC class I folds, recent studies also indicate ligands resembling the NK cell receptors themselves. A combination of immunologic, genetic, biophysical, and in vivo approaches is being employed to understand fully how these receptors contribute to NK cell activities in innate immunity to pathogens and tumors.
authors.affiliation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Rheumatology Division, Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine St. Louis, MO 63110, USA. yokoyama@wustl.edu
authors.forename: Wayne M
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: Yokoyama
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D007113:Immunity, Innate; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000276:immunology*; D008024:Ligands; D051379:Mice; D018448:Models, Immunological; D011971:Receptors, Immunologic / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D055607:Receptors, Natural Killer Cell; D014777:Virus Diseases / Q000276:immunology; D014780:Viruses / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D008024:Ligands; D011971:Receptors, Immunologic; D055607:Receptors, Natural Killer Cell