ABSTRACT
Lymphocytes express a variety of cell surface receptors which mediate their adhesion to other cells and to extracellular matrix (ECM) and are critical for immunological recognition and lymphocyte recirculation and homing. The majority of these adhesion molecules belong to the three different supergene families of immunoglobulins, integrins and selectins and interact with an ECM ligand. Natural killer (NK) cells are a heterogenous population of large granular lymphocytes with the ability to mediate major histocompatibility complex-unrestricted and antibody-dependent cytotoxicity and to produce a large variety of cytokines. NK cells mainly recirculate in the peripheral blood and localize in several nonlymphoid tissues under physiological and inflammatory conditions. Several pathways involving adhesion receptors of immunoglobulin, selectin and integrin gene families control lymphocyte interaction with resting and activated endothelium. The ability of NK cells to interact with an ECM component can be promptly regulated by their activation. This could result in a rapid change in their migration and tissue localization capacity during inflammatory or immune responses.
