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Updated: Apr 12, 2026

Interview: Glycolipid Antigen Presentation by CD1d and the Therapeutic Potential of NKT cell Activation
Published on: December 31, 2007
The glycobiology of the CD system: a dictionary for translating marker designations into glycan/lectin structure and
Hans-Joachim Gabius1, Herbert Kaltner1, Jürgen Kopitz2
1Institute of Physiological Chemistry, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Veterinärstraße 13, 80539 Munich, Germany.
Abstract:
The profile of cell surface molecules, the biochemical platform for cellular communication, can be likened to a molecular fingerprint. Historically, raising monoclonal antibodies by immunization with cells has been instrumental in obtaining tools suited for phenotyping and functional analysis. Initially for leukocyte antigens, the resulting cluster of differentiation (CD) nomenclature has become a popular system for classification. Glycans presented on proteins or lipids and receptors for carbohydrate structures (lectins) are part of the CD list. Our review presents biochemical and biomedical highlights of the respective CD entries.
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