A Coevolutionary Arms Race between Hosts and Viruses Drives Polymorphism and Polygenicity of NK Cell Receptors.

ABSTRACT: Natural killer cell receptors (NKRs) monitor the expression of major histocompatibility class I (MHC-I) and stress molecules to detect unhealthy tissue, such as infected or tumor cells. The NKR gene family shows a remarkable genetic diversity, containing several genes encoding receptors with activating and inhibiting signaling, and varying in gene content and allelic polymorphism. The expansion of the NKR genes is species-specific, with different species evolving alternative expanded NKR genes, which encode structurally different proteins, yet perform comparable functions. So far, the biological function of this expansion within the NKR cluster has remained poorly understood. To study the evolution of NKRs, we have developed an agent-based model implementing a coevolutionary scenario betwe

SUBMITTER: Carrillo-Bustamante P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4833080 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature