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The Natural Cytotoxicity Receptors in Health and Disease

Alexander David Barrow1, Claudia Jane Martin1, Marco Colonna2

  • 1Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.

Frontiers in Immunology
|May 29, 2019
PubMed

Insights

Natural Cytotoxicity Receptors (NCRs) regulate Natural Killer (NK) cell functions and can be expressed by other immune cells. NCR biology offers potential for novel cancer therapies and enhanced tumor surveillance.

Area of Science:

  • Immunology
  • Cell Biology
  • Cancer Research

Background:

  • Natural Cytotoxicity Receptors (NCRs) like NKp46, NKp44, and NKp30 are key activating receptors on Natural Killer (NK) cells.
  • These receptors mediate non-MHC-restricted recognition of target cells, including tumor and virus-infected cells.
  • Numerous ligands for NCRs have been identified, influencing NK cell cytotoxic and cytokine-secreting functions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the biology of NCRs in both health and disease.
  • To elucidate how NCRs regulate tissue NK cell functions.
  • To explore the potential of NCRs in conferring NK cell recognition to other immune cell subsets.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review of studies on NCRs, their ligands, and functions.
  • Analysis of NCR expression patterns in various immune cells.
  • Examination of therapeutic strategies targeting NCRs.

Main Results:

  • NCRs exhibit polyfunctionality, regulating NK cell activity in diverse tissue environments.
  • NCRs can be expressed by other innate and adaptive immune cells, extending NK cell recognition programs.
  • NCRs play a crucial role in immune surveillance against tumors and infections.

Conclusions:

  • NCRs are critical regulators of NK cell-mediated immunity.
  • The expression of NCRs on non-NK cells broadens their immunological impact.
  • Harnessing NCR biology presents promising avenues for developing novel immunotherapies, particularly for cancer treatment and surveillance.
Keywords:
disease associationimmunoregulationnatural killer cellreceptorstissue homeostasis

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