A Proposal for Nomenclature in Myeloid C-Type Lectin Receptors

Myeloid C-type lectin receptors (CLRs) comprise a family of receptors expressed by immune myeloid cells that share homologous C-type lectin domains. The implication of these CLRs in the regulation of homeostasis and activation of myeloid cells has generated a buoyant growth in the number of studies involving these receptors. Since their first description, diverse nomenclature has been used to refer to each of them, ranging from systematic classifications, such as gene name or cluster of differentiation, to non-systematic ones that include terminology based on gene expression patterns or function. In this review, we aim to summarize the different names used for the main myeloidCLRs and analyzewhich of themhave beenmore frequently used in the literature. In addition, we have examined the evolution of the terminology applied to these myeloid CLRs over time. Based on this analysis, we propose a consensus alias for each of those myeloid CLRs. However, we acknowledge that systematicity is required beyond this terminology based on use frequency. Therefore, we have included gene names as the standardization tool to gather the maximum agreement. We suggest that a standard nomenclature consisting of both gene names and consensus alias should be included at least in scientific abstracts, which would help to identify relevant literature, saving time and effort and fostering the research in this field in a more systematic manner.CF was supported by AECC Foundation (INVES192DELF). Work in the DS laboratory was funded by the CNIC and grant SAF2016-79040-R from Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovacion e Universidades (MCIU), Agencia Estatal de Investigacion and Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER); B2017/BMD-3733 Immunothercan-CM from Comunidad de Madrid; RD16/0015/0018-REEM from FIS-Instituto de Salud Carlos III, MICINN, and FEDER; Acteria Foundation; Constantes y Vitales prize (Atresmedia); La Marato de TV3 Foundation (201723); the European Research Council (ERC-2016-Consolidator Grant 725091); and the European Commission (635122-PROCROP H2020). The CNIC is supported by the MCIU and the Pro-CNIC Foundation, and is a Severo Ochoa Center of Excellence (SEV-2015-0505).S