First Author | Vance RE | Year | 1998 |
Journal | J Exp Med | Volume | 188 |
Issue | 10 | Pages | 1841-8 |
PubMed ID | 9815261 | Mgi Jnum | J:51043 |
Mgi Id | MGI:1314517 | Doi | 10.1084/jem.188.10.1841 |
Citation | Vance RE, et al. (1998) Mouse CD94/NKG2A is a natural killer cell receptor for the nonclassical major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecule Qa-1(b). J Exp Med 188(10):1841-8 |
abstractText | Natural killer (NK) cells preferentially lyse targets that express reduced levels of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I proteins. To date, the only known mouse NK receptors for MHC class I belong to the Ly49 family of C-type lectin homodimers. Here, we report the cloning of mouse NKG2A, and demonstrate it forms an additional and distinct class I receptor, a CD94/NKG2A heterodimer. Using soluble tetramers of the nonclassical class I molecule Qa-1(b), we provide direct evidence that CD94/NKG2A recognizes Qa-1(b). We further demonstrate that NK recognition of Qa-1(b) results in the inhibition of target cell lysis. Inhibition appears to depend on the presence of Qdm, a Qa-1(b)-binding peptide derived from the signal sequences of some classical class I molecules. Mouse NKG2A maps adjacent to CD94 in the heart of the NK complex on mouse chromosome six, one of a small cluster of NKG2-like genes. Our findings suggest that mouse NK cells, like their human counterparts, use multiple mechanisms to survey class I expression on target cells. |