A bird's eye view of NK cell receptor interactions with their MHC class I ligands

作者：Saunders Philippa M; Vivian Julian P; O'Connor Geraldine M; Sullivan Lucy C; Pymm Phillip; Rossjohn Jamie; Brooks Andrew G^*

来源：Immunological Reviews, 2015, 267(1): 148-166.

DOI：10.1111/imr.12319

• natural killer cell receptors
• killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors
• human leukocyte antigen
• CD94-NKG2

The surveillance of target cells by natural killer (NK) cells utilizes an ensemble of inhibitory and activating receptors, many of which interact with major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecules. NK cell recognition of MHC class I proteins is important developmentally for the acquisition of full NK cell effector capacity and during target cell recognition, where the engagement of inhibitory receptors and MHC class I molecules attenuates NK cell activation. Human NK cells have evolved two broad strategies for recognition of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I molecules: (i) direct recognition of polymorphic classical HLA class I proteins by diverse receptor families such as the killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIRs), and (ii) indirect recognition of conserved sets of HLA class I-derived peptides displayed on the non-classical HLA-E for recognition by CD94-NKG2 receptors. In this review, we assess the structural basis for the interaction between these NK receptors and their HLA class I ligands and, using the suite of published KIR and CD94-NKG2 ternary complexes, highlight the features that allow NK cells to orchestrate the recognition of a range of different HLA class I proteins.

• 出版日期2015-9