NK cell terminal differentiation: correlated stepwise decrease of NKG2A and acquisition of KIRs.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Terminal differentiation of NK cells is crucial in maintaining broad responsiveness to pathogens and discriminating normal cells from cells in distress. Although it is well established that KIRs, in conjunction with NKG2A, play a major role in the NK cell education that determines whether cells will end up competent or hyporesponsive, the events underlying the differentiation are still debated.

Methodology/principal findings

A combination of complementary approaches to assess the kinetics of the appearance of each subset during development allowed us to obtain new insights into these terminal stages of differentiation, characterising their gene expression profiles at a pan-genomic level, their distinct surface receptor patterns and their prototypic effector functi

SUBMITTER: Beziat V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2917352 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature