Natural killer (NK) cells are a distinct lineage of lymphocytes that mediate cytotoxic activity and secrete cytokines upon immune stimulation. Several genes of the C-type lectin superfamily, including members of the NKG2 family, are expressed by NK cells and may be involved in the regulation of NK cell function. KLRD1 (CD94) is an antigen preferentially expressed on NK cells and is classified as a type II membrane protein because it has an external C terminus. Three transcript variants encoding two different isoforms have been found for this gene. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2008],
show all
Function:
Function:Plays a role as a receptor for the recognition of MHC class I HLA-E molecules by NK cells and some cytotoxic T-cells.,online information:CD94,similarity:Contains 1 C-type lectin domain.,subunit:Can form disulfide-bonded heterodimer with NKG2 family members.,tissue specificity:Natural killer cells.,
show all
Cellular Localization:
Cell membrane ; Single-pass type II membrane protein .
show all
Tissue Expression:
Expressed in NK cell subsets (at protein level) (PubMed:21825173, PubMed:9430220, PubMed:9485206). Expressed in memory/effector CD8-positive alpha-beta T cell subsets (at protein level) (PubMed:12387742, PubMed:20952657). Expressed in melanoma-specific cytotoxic T cell clones (at protein level) (PubMed:9485206). Expressed in terminally differentiated cytotoxic gamma-delta T cells (at protein level) (PubMed:20952657). KLRD1-KLRC1 and KLRD1-KLRC2 are differentially expressed in NK and T cell populations, with only minor subsets expressing both receptor complexes (at protein level) (PubMed:20952657).