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Perspective
Nature Reviews Immunology 7, 737–744 (1 September 2007) | doi:10.1038/nri2144
Promiscuity and the single receptor: NKG2D
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Abstract
NKG2D (natural-killer group 2, member D) is a powerful activating receptor expressed by natural killer (NK) cells and T cells that regulates immune responses during infection, cancer and autoimmunity. NKG2D ligands comprise a diverse array of MHC-class-I-related proteins that are upregulated by cellular stress. Why is it beneficial for the host to have so many ligands for the same receptor? In this Opinion article, we propose that although competition with viruses is the most likely evolutionary drive for this diversity, there might be other explanations.
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