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The ever‐expanding Ly49 gene family: repertoire and signaling
Author(s) -
Anderson Stephen K.,
Ortaldo John R.,
McVicar Daniel W.
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
immunological reviews
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.839
H-Index - 223
eISSN - 1600-065X
pISSN - 0105-2896
DOI - 10.1034/j.1600-065x.2001.1810106.x
Subject(s) - biology , major histocompatibility complex , gene , signal transduction , receptor , gene family , genetics , repertoire , immune system , microbiology and biotechnology , immunology , gene expression , physics , acoustics
Summary: The mouse lectin‐related Ly49 family and the human killer cell Ig‐like receptor (KIR) family represent structurally distinct, yet functionally analogous, class I MHC receptors that are expressed on natural killer cells and some T cells. The functional similarity of these two families has been borne out by the demonstration of identical signal transduction pathways associated with each receptor family. The Ly49 family therefore provides a useful model system to study the role of this class of receptors in the regulation of the immune system. Recent data relating to the Ly49 repertoire in several mouse strains has revealed an additional evolutionary parallel between KIR and Ly49 receptor families. There is now an appreciation of the variation in the number and type of Ly49s expressed in different mouse strains, similar to the previously demonstrated differences in the number of KIR genes found in humans. This review summarizes the current members of the Ly49 gene family, their MHC class I recognition and associated signal transduction pathways. This work was supported in part through NCI contract No. NO1‐CO‐56000.