Natural Cytotoxicity Receptor Family

**Semantic type:** Amino Acid, Peptide, or Protein|Receptor

**Definition:** A family of receptors belonging to the immunoglobulin superfamily that are mainly expressed on natural killer (NK) cells. Natural cytotoxicity receptors (NCR) bind to a broad range of ligands derived from microbes, tumors, and endogenous sources. Predominantly, ligand binding leads to the activation of NK cells, which stimulates cell-mediated cytotoxic immune responses, but some ligands may inhibit NK cell activation.

**Synonyms:** - NCR - NCR Family - NK Cell-Activating Receptor - Natural Cytotoxicity Receptor - Natural Cytotoxicity Triggering Receptor