Fcgamma receptors as regulators of immune responses

Falk Nimmerjahn1, Jeffrey V Ravetch

  • 1Laboratory of Experimental Immunology and Immunotherapy, Nikolaus-Fiebiger-Center for Molecular Medicine, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Glueckstr. 6, 91054 Erlangen, Germany. fnimmerj@molmed.uni-erlangen.de

In addition to their role in binding antigen, antibodies can regulate immune responses through interacting with Fc receptors (FcRs). In recent years, significant progress has been made in understanding the mechanisms that regulate the activity of IgG antibodies in vivo. In this Review, we discuss recent studies addressing the multifaceted roles of FcRs for IgG (FcgammaRs) in the immune system and how this knowledge could be translated into novel therapeutic strategies to treat human autoimmune, infectious or malignant diseases.

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