title: NKG2D signaling in cancer immunosurveillance.
abstract: The immune system is able to detect and eliminate transformed cells. The activating receptor NKG2D is particularly relevant for cancer immunosurveillance. NKG2D ligand expression renders tumor cells more susceptible to be killed by NK and T cells, and correlates with the clinical outcome of the disease. However, tumors develop mechanisms to overcome the NKG2D-mediated immune response, which has been associated with poor prognosis and impairment of the clinical benefits of immunotherapy in many human cancers. The highly specific pattern of expression displayed by the NKG2D ligands, mainly confined to tumor cells, together with the strong immune response triggered by this receptor clearly supports the idea that the NKG2D-mediated pathway may be a powerful target for the treatment of cancer. This review draws together the most recent discoveries concerning the biology of the NKG2D signaling and their therapeutic relevance in the context of cancer.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biología Funcional, Universidad de Oviedo, IUOPA, Asturias, Spain.
authors.forename: Alejandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: López-Soto
authors.forename: Leticia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Huergo-Zapico
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Acebes-Huerta
authors.forename: Mónica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Villa-Alvarez
authors.forename: Segundo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gonzalez
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D007167:Immunotherapy / Q000379:methods; D008024:Ligands; D015166:Monitoring, Immunologic / Q000379:methods; D055655:NK Cell Lectin-Like Receptor Subfamily K / Q000276:immunology*; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology* / Q000628:therapy; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D008024:Ligands; D055655:NK Cell Lectin-Like Receptor Subfamily K
keywords: MICA/B; NK cells; NKG2D; T cells; ULBPs; cancer immunosurveillance; cancer immunotherapy