Natural killer reprogramming in cutaneous T-cell lymphomas: Facts and hypotheses

Figure 1 Tuning CD3/T cell receptor signalling threshold by natural killer receptors on Sézary tumoral cells. Ig-like transcript 2 (ILT2) or KIR3DL2 receptors on Sézary cells lower the threshold of T-cell receptor activation through the activation of the SHP1 phosphatase. Natural cytotoxicity receptors (NCR)1 (NKp46) receptors associate with CD3z-g chains and, when in close proximity, the NCR1 prevents the phosphorylation of CD3z chains of the T cell receptor complex. These mechanisms can be seen as a way to escape antigen-receptor mediated cell death associated with chronic T-cell stimulation in Sézary syndrome.