title: Back to the future--defining NK cells and T cells.
abstract: In this issue of the European Journal of Immunology (EJI), Stewart et al. report about a population of gammadelta-T cells expressing an extensive repertoire of NK cell receptors, and the presence of non-rearranged germline TCRdelta transcripts in conventional NK cells. These findings and other recent studies highlight the similarities of NK cells and T cells and the problems in discriminating between these two lineages.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology and the Cancer Research Institute, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143-0414, USA. lewis.lanier@ucsf.edu
authors.forename: Lewis L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Lanier
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015703:Antigens, CD / Q000378:metabolism; D000954:Antigens, Surface / Q000378:metabolism; D017252:CD3 Complex / Q000378:metabolism; D019070:Cell Lineage / Q000276:immunology; D015329:Gene Rearrangement, T-Lymphocyte; D006801:Humans; D016130:Immunophenotyping; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D037181:Lectins, C-Type / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D055651:NK Cell Lectin-Like Receptor Subfamily B; D016692:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, gamma-delta / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D011971:Receptors, Immunologic / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D015703:Antigens, CD; D000954:Antigens, Surface; D017252:CD3 Complex; C527203:KLRB1 protein, human; D037181:Lectins, C-Type; D055651:NK Cell Lectin-Like Receptor Subfamily B; D016692:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, gamma-delta; D011971:Receptors, Immunologic