Related Experiment Video

Updated: Aug 6, 2026

Two Flow Cytometric Approaches of NKG2D Ligand Surface Detection to Distinguish Stem Cells from Bulk Subpopulations in Acute Myeloid Leukemia
05:24

Two Flow Cytometric Approaches of NKG2D Ligand Surface Detection to Distinguish Stem Cells from Bulk Subpopulations in Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Published on: February 21, 2021

The role of the NKG2D receptor for tumor immunity

Jérôme D Coudert1, Werner Held

  • 1Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Lausanne Branch and University of Lausanne, Ch des Boveresses 155, Epalinges, Switzerland.

Seminars in Cancer Biology
|August 18, 2006
PubMed

Insights

Natural killer (NK) cells use the NKG2D pathway to detect transformed cells. This review explores NKG2D regulation, ligand expression, and its role in tumor immunity and potential therapeutic applications.

Area of Science:

  • Immunology
  • Cell Biology
  • Cancer Research

Background:

  • Natural killer (NK) cells were initially recognized for non-specific tumor cell killing.
  • Recent advances have elucidated specific receptor-ligand interactions used by NK cells.
  • The NKG2D pathway is a key system for immune surveillance of cellular health.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review current understanding of NKG2D pathway regulation.
  • To summarize control mechanisms of NKG2D ligand expression.
  • To discuss the role of NKG2D in tumor immunity and therapeutic potential.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review of recent scientific publications.
  • Analysis of studies on NKG2D receptor and its ligands.
  • Synthesis of data on NKG2D's function in NK cells and T cells.

Main Results:

  • NKG2D pathway is crucial for specific detection of transformed cells.
  • NKG2D plays significant roles not only on NK cells but also on T cells.
  • Understanding NKG2D regulation and ligand expression is advancing rapidly.

Conclusions:

  • The NKG2D pathway is a paradigm for immune surveillance of host cell status.
  • NKG2D is a promising target for improving anti-tumor immunity.
  • Exploiting NKG2D function offers potential for novel cancer immunotherapies.

More Related Videos

Measurement of Natural Killer Cell-Mediated Cytotoxicity and Migration in the Context of Hepatic Tumor Cells06:55

Measurement of Natural Killer Cell-Mediated Cytotoxicity and Migration in the Context of Hepatic Tumor Cells

Published on: February 22, 2020

Quantifying Antibody-Dependent Cellular Cytotoxicity in a Tumor Spheroid Model: Application for Drug Discovery13:19

Quantifying Antibody-Dependent Cellular Cytotoxicity in a Tumor Spheroid Model: Application for Drug Discovery

Published on: April 26, 2024

Related Concept Videos

Cytotoxic T Cells-mediated Immune Response01:27

Cytotoxic T Cells-mediated Immune Response

Cytotoxic T cells are a vital component of the immune system. They have the remarkable ability to identify and target antigens on infected or abnormal cells. These antigens often originate from intracellular pathogens such as viruses or abnormal proteins cancer cells produce.
Immunological surveillance is the ability of immune cells to monitor and eliminate infected cells with intracellular pathogens, neoplastically transformed cells, and cells with non-self antigens. Cytotoxic T cells and NK...
Cells of the Innate Immune Response01:28

Cells of the Innate Immune Response

The innate immune response is an immediate and non-specific response against pathogens, acting swiftly to prevent the spread of infections. The primary cells involved in this response are phagocytes and natural killer (NK) cells.
Phagocytes
Phagocytes police the peripheral tissues by removing cellular debris and responding to the invasion of foreign substances or pathogens. Many phagocytes attack and remove microorganisms even before lymphocytes detect them. The human body has two general...
Tumor Immunotherapy01:27

Tumor Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy is a treatment that boosts or manipulates the immune system to fight diseases, including cancer. For instance, by stimulating an immune response through vaccinations against viruses that cause cancers, like hepatitis B virus and human papillomavirus, these diseases can be prevented. Nonetheless, some cancer cells can avoid the immune system due to their rapid mutation and division. The immune response to many cancers involves three phases: elimination, equilibrium, and escape.
Mitogens and the Cell Cycle02:38

Mitogens and the Cell Cycle

Mitogens and their receptors play a crucial role in controlling the progression of the cell cycle. However, the loss of mitogenic control over cell division leads to tumor formation. Therefore, mitogens and mitogen receptors play an important role in cancer research. For instance, the epidermal growth factor (EGF) - a type of mitogen and its transmembrane receptor (EGFR), decides the fate of the cell's proliferation. When EGF binds to EGFR, a member of the ErbB family of tyrosine kinase...
Immune Surveillance by NK Cells and Phagocytes01:25

Immune Surveillance by NK Cells and Phagocytes

Immune surveillance is an integral part of the innate immune system, involving the continuous monitoring of peripheral tissues to detect and respond to pathogens, infected cells, or cancerous cells. This surveillance is conducted primarily by natural killer (NK) cells and phagocytes, which employ distinct but complementary mechanisms to identify and eliminate threats.
Natural Killer Cells: The Fast Responders
NK cells are large granular lymphocytes found in the blood and lymphatic system. These...
Enzyme-linked Receptors01:00

Enzyme-linked Receptors

Enzyme-linked receptors are proteins that act as both receptor and enzyme, activating multiple intracellular signals. This is a large group of receptors that include the receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) family. Many growth factors and hormones bind to and activate the RTKs.
Neurotrophin (NT) receptors are a family of RTKs, including trkA, trkB, and trkC (tropomyosin-related kinase) receptors. TrkA is specific for nerve growth factor (NGF), neurotrophin-6, and neurotrophin-7. TrkB binds...