Cloning of murine NKG2A, B and C: second family of C-type lectin receptors on murine NK cells

✍ Scribed by Stefan Lohwasser; Prakash Hande; Dixie L. Mager; Fumio Takei

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1999
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 144 KB
• Volume: 29
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0014-2980
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1521-4141(199903)29:03<755::aid-immu755>3.0.co;2-x

✦ Synopsis

Multiple NK cell receptors for MHC class I have been identified. They include killer inhibitory receptors and CD94/NKG2 heterodimers in humans and the Ly49 family in mice. Here we report the cloning of murine NKG2A, B and C. The deduced amino acid sequence of mouse NKG2A contains only one consensus cytoplasmic immunoreceptor tyrosine-based inhibitory motif (ITIM). NKG2A from B6 and BALB/c mice differ by six amino acid residues in the extracellular domain. Murine NKG2B, like its human conterpart, appears to be a splice variant of NKG2A and lacks a large portion of the stalk region. Murine NKG2C lacks an ITIM in its cytoplasmic domain, a feature shared by human and rat NKG2C. However, unlike the human counterpart, the transmembrane domain of mouse NKG2C does not contain a charged amino acid residue. Mouse NKG2A mRNA was detected in IL-2-activated NK cells and spleen cells but not in other tissues. The NKG2A gene was localized on the distal portion of chromosome 6 where the NK complex has been located. These results further extend the repertoire of C-type lectin receptors on murine NK cells.