Immune inhibitory receptors

With the detailed description and analysis of several inhibitory receptor s ystems on Lymphoid and myeloid cells, a central paradigm has emerged in whi ch the pairing of activation and inhibition is necessary to initiate, ampli fy, and then terminate immune responses. In some cases, the activating and inhibitory receptors recognize similar Ligands, and the net outcome is dete rmined by the relative strength of these opposing signals. The importance o f this modulation is demonstrated by the sometimes fatal autoimmune disorde rs observed in mice with targeted disruption of inhibitory receptors. The s ignificance of these receptors is further evidenced by the conservation of immunoreceptor tyrosine-based inhibitory motifs during their evolution.