Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2017 Jul 24:8:892.
doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2017.00892. eCollection 2017.

CD56 in the Immune System: More Than a Marker for Cytotoxicity?

Heleen H Van Acker  1 , Anna Capsomidis  2 , Evelien L Smits  1   3   4 , Viggo F Van Tendeloo  1
Affiliations
Review

CD56 in the Immune System: More Than a Marker for Cytotoxicity?

Heleen H Van Acker et al. Front Immunol. .

Abstract

Over the past years, the phenotypic and functional boundaries distinguishing the main cell subsets of the immune system have become increasingly blurred. In this respect, CD56 (also known as neural cell adhesion molecule) is a very good example. CD56 is the archetypal phenotypic marker of natural killer cells but can actually be expressed by many more immune cells, including alpha beta T cells, gamma delta T cells, dendritic cells, and monocytes. Common to all these CD56-expressing cell types are strong immunostimulatory effector functions, including T helper 1 cytokine production and an efficient cytotoxic capacity. Interestingly, both numerical and functional deficiencies and phenotypic alterations of the CD56+ immune cell fraction have been reported in patients with various infectious, autoimmune, or malignant diseases. In this review, we will discuss our current knowledge on the expression and function of CD56 in the hematopoietic system, both in health and disease.

Keywords: CD56; T cell; cellular immune response; interleukin-15; natural killer cell; neural cell adhesion molecule.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
CD56 in the immune system, resumptive figure. Abbreviations: αβ T, alpha beta T cell; γδ T, gamma delta T cell; APC, antigen-presenting cell; CTL, cytotoxic T lymphocyte; DC, dendritic cell; IL, interleukin; IFN, interferon; lnc, long non-coding; NK cell, natural killer cell; SC, stressed cell; TCR, T cell receptor.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Ditlevsen DK, Povlsen GK, Berezin V, Bock E. NCAM-induced intracellular signaling revisited. J Neurosci Res (2008) 86(4):727–43.10.1002/jnr.21551 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Maness PF, Schachner M. Neural recognition molecules of the immunoglobulin superfamily: signaling transducers of axon guidance and neuronal migration. Nat Neurosci (2007) 10(1):19–26.10.1038/nn1827 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Cheng M, Chen Y, Xiao W, Sun R, Tian Z. NK cell-based immunotherapy for malignant diseases. Cell Mol Immunol (2013) 10(3):230–52.10.1038/cmi.2013.10 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Kelly-Rogers J, Madrigal-Estebas L, O’Connor T, Doherty DG. Activation-induced expression of CD56 by T cells is associated with a reprogramming of cytolytic activity and cytokine secretion profile in vitro. Hum Immunol (2006) 67(11):863–73.10.1016/j.humimm.2006.08.292 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Roothans D, Smits E, Lion E, Tel J, Anguille S. CD56 marks human dendritic cell subsets with cytotoxic potential. Oncoimmunology (2013) 2(2):e23037.10.4161/onci.23037 - DOI - PMC - PubMed