Natural Killer Cell Function and Dysfunction in Hepatitis C Virus Infection
Figure 2
Natural killer cell receptor repertoire. Natural killer cells express some fraction of a diverse set of germ-line encoded receptors, many of which display allelic polymorphism. They are variously associated with different adaptor molecules that convey either activating or inhibitory signals. Two of the three natural cytotoxicity receptors, NKp30, NKp46, and also the CD16 FcγRIII receptor, mediate signaling through ITAM-containing ζ chain homodimers, FcεRIγ homodimers, or FcεRIγ/ζ heterodimers. Activating receptors depicted here are CD16, NKp30, NKp46, NKp44, KIR3DS1, CD160, and NKG2D; inhibitory receptors depicted are TIM-3 and NKG2A/CD94. The CD56 molecule is comprised of five immunoglobulin-like domains and, in the absence of CD3, is a reliable marker for NK cells.
