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Immunology

The footprint of a killer

Nature volume 405, pages 527–528 (2000)Cite this article

Class I molecules of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) are normally expressed on the surface of most cells in the body. They serve two purposes in the immune system. T cells use MHC molecules to identify and kill cells that are infected by foreign material, such as viruses. Natural killer (NK) cells, meanwhile, use them to identify and spare the lives of cells that are normal and healthy1. On page 537 of this issue2, Boyington and colleagues reveal the structural nature of a life-saving liaison between a human MHC molecule and its receptor on an NK cell.

Human NK cells can express MHC class I receptors of either the immunoglobulin family (the receptors of which are called killer-cell immunoglobulin-like inhibitory receptors, or KIRs) or the C-type-lectin family. It is the structure of an immunoglobulin-type receptor, KIR2DL2, in complex with its MHC class I ligand, HLA-Cw3, that is described by Boyington et al.2.

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Figure 1: Life-saving liaisons.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics, Karolinska Institute, Box 280, Stockholm, 17177, Sweden

    Klas Kärre & Gunter Schneider

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  1. Klas Kärre
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  2. Gunter Schneider
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Correspondence to Klas Kärre.

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Kärre, K., Schneider, G. The footprint of a killer. Nature 405, 527–528 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/35014724

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