RIFINs displayed on malaria-infected erythrocytes bind KIR2DL1 and KIR2DS1.

ABSTRACT: Natural killer (NK) cells use inhibitory and activating immune receptors to differentiate between human cells and pathogens. Signalling by these receptors determines whether an NK cell becomes activated and destroys a target cell. In some cases, such as killer immunoglobulin-like receptors, immune receptors are found in pairs, with inhibitory and activating receptors containing nearly identical extracellular ligand-binding domains coupled to different intracellular signalling domains¹. Previous studies showed that repetitive interspersed family (RIFIN) proteins, displayed on the surfaces of Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocytes, can bind to inhibitory immune receptors and dampen NK cell activation^2,3, reducing parasite killing. However, no pathogen-derived ligan

SUBMITTER: Sakoguchi A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12310515 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature