KIR3D and HLA-B ligands and their association with the CR rate.

<p>The NK effector functions are determined by the cumulative signal generated via the ligation of activating and inhibitory NK cell receptors with their putative HLA ligand on target cells. Activating (KIR3DS1) and inhibitory (KIR3DL1) receptors are genes of a same locus and have similar HLA-B ligand specificity with thus a possible balancing role in the NK response. The KIR3D receptor can recognize the HLA-B molecules carrying the Bw4 common epitope (Bw4-I80 and Bw4-T80 variants), but not the Bw6 motif. The figure shows a greater frequency of patients with CR in patients carrying KIR3Ds with the Bw4-I80 ligand (10%) than in patients with Bw4-T80 (0%) or Bw6/6 (4%). Among the HLA-Bw4-I80 ligand, the presence of the KIR3DS1 gene is associated with a trend towards improved CR rate (Chi square test for trend, p 0.016). + and – indicate presence or absence of the gene, respectively.