Laboratory of Immunogenetics

Receptor Cell Biology Section

The Receptor Cell Biology Section studies how natural killer (NK) cell activation and inhibitory receptors serve to regulate the function of these key cells of the innate immune response. Recent observations, indicating that NK-associated receptors also serve to regulate T-cell function, in particular CD8+ T cells, have led to an expansion of the section’s interest to examining the role that NKG2 receptors play in regulating T-cell function.

In addition, the section studies the role that a newly described inhibitory receptor, LAIR-1, plays in regulating activation of immune cells, including mast cells, and the relationship between surface ligation and endocytosis in FcεRI-mediated allergic reactions by mast cells.

Ongoing studies include

• Determination of how members of the CD94/NKG2 family of receptors effect target recognition and how post-recognition signals that dictate lysis through the myriad of activation receptors (CD94/NKG2C, NKG2D, NKp46) or inhibition of lysis by CD94/NKG2A and other inhibitory receptors are transmitted
• Determination of the factors and processes that regulate tissue-specific and clonal expression of DAP-10, CD94 and NKG2 family genes
• Understanding the relationship between intracellular trafficking and function of the CD94/NKG2 family of receptors and other receptors such as NKp46, NKG2D, etc.
• Determination of the role of LAIR-1 and NKG2D in T-cell regulation
• Determination of the mechanisms of FcεRI endocytosis and trafficking and the relationship between FcεRI endocytosis and mast cell effector functions

John E. Coligan, Ph.D., Chief
Francisco Borrego, M.D., Ph.D.

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