RAE1 polyclonal antibody

Natural killer (NK) cells attack tumor and infected cells, but the receptors and
ligands that stimulate them are poorly understood. Two murine ligands for
the lectin-like receptor NKG2D, H60 and retinoic acid early inducible (Rae-
1α, β, γ, δ and ε), are distant relatives of major histocompatibility complex
class I molecules. These molecules are encoded by Rae-1 and H60 minor
histocompatibility antigen genes on mouse chromosome 10 and show weak
homology with MHC class I. Expression of the NKG2D ligands is low or absent
on normal, adult tissues; however, they are constitutively expressed on some
tumors and upregulated by retinoic acid. Ectopic expression of Rae-1 and
H60 confers target susceptibility to NK cell attack. NKG2D binds to H60 with
approximately 25-fold higher affinity than to Rae-1. Rae-1 and H60 compete
directly for occupancy of NKG2D; therefore, NKG2D can be occupied by only one ligand at a time. Additionally, Rae-1 and H60 ligands of the NKG2D
receptor stimulate tumor immunity.