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Briefings in Functional Genomics Advance Access published online on January 21, 2008
Briefings in Functional Genomics, doi:10.1093/bfgp/elm037
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© Oxford University Press, 2008, All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Profiling killers; unravelling the pathways of human natural killer cell function

Gina B. Scott, Josephine L. Meade and Graham P. Cook

Corresponding author. Graham P. Cook, Leeds Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Leeds, Wellcome Trust Brenner Building, St James's University Hospital, Leeds LS9 7TF, UK. Tel: +113 343 8411; Fax: +113 343 8501; E-mail: g.p.cook{at}leeds.ac.uk

Natural killer (NK) cells are lymphocytes with an innate ability to recognize and kill infected cells and tumour cells. Unlike B and T cells, NK cells do not express an antigen receptor. Instead, NK cells detect changes in the phenotype of the target cell surface; malignant transformation or infection resulting in the loss or gain of particular molecules that are detected by inhibitory or activating receptors on the NK cell surface. The identification and characterization of NK cells and their receptors was made possible by monoclonal antibody technology. The ease with which genes and gene products can now be identified and manipulated has accelerated our understanding of NK cell function. Furthermore, gene and protein profiling studies are beginning to refine our understanding of NK cells, their interactions with other cells and their effector mechanisms. This review illustrates some of the basic features of NK cell biology and highlights the contribution made by post-genomic technology in defining the molecular mechanisms by which NK cells identify and kill susceptible targets.

Keywords: NK cells, immune response, protease, granzyme, protease substrate


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