Nature Immunology
3, 1150 - 1155 (2002)
Published online: 11 November 2002; | doi:10.1038/ni857
NKG2D recruits two distinct adapters to trigger NK cell activation and costimulationSusan Gilfillan1, Emily L. Ho2, Marina Cella1, Wayne M. Yokoyama2
& Marco Colonna11
Department of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 S. Euclid, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA. 2
Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Rheumatology Division, Department of Medicine, Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine, 660 S. Euclid, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA.
Correspondence should be addressed to Marco Colonna mcolonna@pathology.wustl.eduNKG2D is a receptor on natural killer (NK) cells and cytotoxic T lymphocytes that binds major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I−like ligands expressed primarily on virally infected and neoplastic cells. In vitro studies indicate that NKG2D provides costimulation through an associated adapter, DAP10, which recruits phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase. Here we show that in DAP10-deficient mice, CD8+ T cells lack NKG2D expression and are incapable of mounting tumor-specific responses. However, DAP10-deficient NK cells express a functional NKG2D receptor due to the association of NKG2D with another adapter molecule, DAP12 (also known as KARAP), which recruits protein tyrosine kinases. Thus, NKG2D is a versatile receptor that, depending on the availability of adapter partners, mediates costimulation in T cells and/or activation in NK cells.
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