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Review

Nature Immunology 7, 1258–1265 (1 December 2006) | doi:10.1038/ni1417

Myeloid C-type lectins in innate immunity

Matthew J Robinson , David Sancho , Emma C Slack , Salom|[eacute]| LeibundGut-Landmann & Caetano Reis e Sousa

C-type lectins expressed on myeloid cells comprise a family of proteins that share a common structural motif, and some act as receptors in pathogen recognition. But just as the presence of leucine-rich repeats alone is not sufficient to define a Toll-like receptor, the characterization of C-type lectin receptors in innate immunity requires the identification of accompanying signaling motifs. Here we focus on the known signaling pathways of myeloid C-type lectins and on their possible functions as autonomous activating or inhibitory receptors involved in innate responses to pathogens or self.