Biological Characteristics and Clinical Application of NKG2A

CHEN Yanjiao, CHEN Caitao, YUAN Yu, SHI Yanglin, XU Yudong, WANG Yu, YANG Yongqing^*

(Shanghai Research Institute of Acupuncture and Meridian, Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 200030, China)

Abstract:

NKG2A is an inhibitory receptor, mainly expressed on the surface of NK cells. The inhibitory and activating receptors compete with each other to regulate the activity of NK cells. Recently, the restored activity of NK cells when the inhibitory receptor NKG2A is blocked has made NKG2A one of the focuses in antitumor therapy. However, emerging clinical evidence shows that NKG2A plays a critical role in regulating viral infections and autoimmune diseases, and NKG2A has broad prospects in clinical applications. The paper presents the basic biological characteristics, tissue distribution, protein-protein interactions and function of NKG2A, as well as its current applications in viral infections, tumors and other immune related diseases. The purpose of the paper is to promote the clinical applications of NKG2A in the prevention and treatment of related diseases.