A unique immune cell type able to kill cancer and virus-infected cells. The nature of the killer receptors expressed on natural killer cells (NK cells), mediating this killing, and their ligands, is only little understood. Four lysis receptors for human NK cells were identified, including the NKp30, NKp44, NKp46 and CD16, all of which are capable of mediating direct killing of virus-infected and tumor cells. Among these, the NKp46 receptor is considered to be the major lysis receptor for NK cells.1
Sources:- Mandelboim O, Porgador A. NKp46. Int J Biochem Cell Biol. 2001 Dec;33(12):1147-50. [↩]