Authors: Elissaveta Naumova Anastassia Mihaylova Milena Ivanova Snejina Mihailova
Publish Date: 2006/03/18
Volume: 56, Issue: 1, Pages: 95-100
Abstract
Tumor growth and dissemination depend partly on the reactivity of natural killer NK cells and T cells expressing NKassociated receptors Their effector functions are regulated by an array of activating and inhibitory cell surface receptors with MHC class I ligand specificity such as the killer immunoglobulinlike receptors KIRs Given the extensive genomic diversity of KIRs and their HLA ligands it is reasonable to speculate that HLA KIR gene variations and specific KIRligand combinations will have an impact on disease susceptibility and/or progression Here we discuss how KIR genotypes and KIR/HLA immunogenetic profiles may be involved in tumorigenesis especially in malignant melanoma MM A hypothetical model of the impact of KIR/ligand combinations on immune responses in MM is proposed
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