Background: | Killer-cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIRs), are a family of cell surface glycoproteins found on Natural Killer (NK) Cells, which are important cells of the immune system. They control the killing function of these cells by interacting with MHC class I molecules, which are expressed on all cell types. This interaction allows them to identify virally infected cells or tumor cells that have a distinctive low level of Class I MHC on their surface. The majority of KIRs are inhibitory, which means that their recognition of MHC suppresses the cytotoxic activity of their NK cell. Only a limited number of KIRs have the capacity to activate cells. The KIR genes are found in a cluster on chromosome 19q13.4 within the 1 Mb leukocyte receptor complex (LRC). KIR molecules are extremely polymorphic, meaning their gene sequences differ significantly between individuals, so that different individuals have different arrays/repertoires of KIR genes. |
Synonyms: | Killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptor 2DL3, MHC class I NK cell receptor, Natural killer-associated transcript 2, NKAT-2, NKAT2a, NKAT2b, p58 natural killer cell receptor clone CL-6, p58 NK receptor, p58.2 MHC class-I-specific NK receptor, Killer inhibitory receptor cl 2-3, KIR-023GB, CD158 antigen-like family member B2, CD158b2 antigen, KIR2DL3, CD158B2, KIRCL23, NKAT2, p58, NKAT, GL183, CD158b, KIR-K7b, KIR-K7c, MGC129943. |