Inhibitory signaling blocks activating receptor clustering and induces cytoskeletal retraction in natural killer cells.

ABSTRACT: Natural killer (NK) lymphocytes use a variety of activating receptors to recognize and kill infected or tumorigenic cells during an innate immune response. To prevent targeting healthy tissue, NK cells also express numerous inhibitory receptors that signal through immunotyrosine-based inhibitory motifs (ITIMs). Precisely how signals from competing activating and inhibitory receptors are integrated and resolved is not understood. To investigate how ITIM receptor signaling impinges on activating pathways, we developed a photochemical approach for stimulating the inhibitory receptor KIR2DL2 during ongoing NK cell-activating responses in high-resolution imaging experiments. Photostimulation of KIR2DL2 induces the rapid formation of inhibitory receptor microclusters in the plasma membrane and t

SUBMITTER: Abeyweera TP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3044118 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature