Publication Date:
2004-08-01
Description:
Natural killer (NK) cells play a pivotal role in the immune reaction during the bone marrow allograft rejection. Little is known, however, about the molecular mechanisms underlying the NK cell–mediated allograft recognition and rejection. In this report, we assessed the role of a recently identified NK receptor, killer cell lectinlike receptor 1 (KLRE-1), by generating knock-out mice. KLRE-1–deficient mice were born at an expected frequency and showed no aberrant phenotype on growth and lymphoid development. Nevertheless, KLRE-1–deficient cells showed a severely compromised allogeneic cytotoxic activity compared with the wild-type cells. Furthermore, allogeneic bone marrow transfer culminated in colony formation in the spleen of KLRE-1–deficient mice, whereas no colony formation was observed in wild-type recipient mice. These results demonstrate that KLRE-1 is a receptor mediating recognition and rejection of allogeneic target cells in the host immune system.
Print ISSN:
0006-4971
Electronic ISSN:
1528-0020
Topics:
Biology
,
Medicine
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