Only in recent years,attentions have been drawn to the significance of expressing killer cell inhibitory receptors(KIR)in T cells.KIRs specifically bind to the corresponding region of the MHC class I molecules and transmit negative signals to prevent cytotoxity of T cells.When the ligands of KIRs are missing,the lysis of the target cells can't be avoided.Perhaps the existence of KIRs is the main mechanism for preventing T cells from attacking autologous tissues.The recognition mechanism of the interaction between the KIR+ donor T cells and the recipient's MHC class I molecule expressing tissue cells might shed light on the establishment of the immunotolerance for the prevention of allo-graft rejection and graft-versus-host disease.
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