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Updated: May 22, 2026

qKAT: Quantitative Semi-automated Typing of Killer-cell Immunoglobulin-like Receptor Genes
Published on: March 6, 2019
Evolution of the C-type lectin-like receptor genes of the DECTIN-1 cluster in the NK gene complex
Susanne Sattler1, Hormas Ghadially, Erhard Hofer
1Department of Vascular Biology and Thrombosis Research, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria. s.sattler@imperial.ac.uk
Abstract:
Pattern recognition receptors are crucial in initiating and shaping innate and adaptive immune responses and often belong to families of structurally and evolutionarily related proteins. The human C-type lectin-like receptors encoded in the DECTIN-1 cluster within the NK gene complex contain prominent receptors with pattern recognition function, such as DECTIN-1 and LOX-1. All members of this cluster share significant homology and are considered to have arisen from subsequent gene duplications. Recent developments in sequencing and the availability of comprehensive sequence data comprising many species showed that the receptors of the DECTIN-1 cluster are not only homologous to each other but also highly conserved between species. Even in Caenorhabditis elegans, genes displaying homology to the mammalian C-type lectin-like receptors have been detected. In this paper, we conduct a comprehensive phylogenetic survey and give an up-to-date overview of the currently available data on the evolutionary emergence of the DECTIN-1 cluster genes.
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