Signaling while eating: MCL is coupled with Mincle.
Recently, C-type lectin receptors (CLRs) have been identified as a newly emerging family of pattern-recognition receptors for pathogen-associated molecular patterns. The ligand and function of many "individual" CLRs have been clarified in the past few years. A new report by Lobato-Pascual et al. in this issue of the European Journal of Immunology [Eur. J. Immunol. 2013. 43: 3167-3174] shows that a rat CLR, named macrophage C-type lectin (also called Clec4d), forms a heterodimer with another CLR, macrophage inducible C-type lectin (also called Clec4e). This finding sheds light on a possible synergistic regulation of different C-type lectin receptors by forming heterodimers: such heterodimers may amplify signaling, expand ligand specificity, or confer multiple functions.
Division of Molecular Immunology, Research Center for Infectious Diseases, Medical Institute of Bioregulation, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.
Sho
S
Yamasaki
D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D037181:Lectins, C-Type / Q000378:metabolism*; D046912:Multiprotein Complexes / Q000276:immunology*; D022423:Myeloid Cells / Q000276:immunology*; D055503:Protein Multimerization / Q000276:immunology*; D017455:Receptors, IgE / Q000276:immunology*
D037181:Lectins, C-Type; D046912:Multiprotein Complexes; D017455:Receptors, IgE
C‐type lectin; Mincle; Myeloid cells; Signaling adaptor