Title:CD6 as a Cell Surface Receptor and As a Target for Regulating Immune Responses
Volume: 17
Issue: 6
Author(s): Marion H. Brown
Affiliation:
Keywords:
CD6, CD166, SLP-76, T cells, activation, inhibition, immunotherapy, signal transduction.
Abstract: CD6 has been exploited as a drug target as its expression is restricted, primarily to T cells, it
has a well characterised cell surface ligand, CD166 and regulates T cell activation through a long cytoplasmic
tail. CD6 can affect both the initiation and maintenance of T cell function in a negative and
positive manner respectively so that it is important to understand these dual effects of a potential drug
target. The effective mode of action of clinical monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) that recognise cell surface
receptors including CD6 is commonly cytotoxic depletion of cells. It is not clear how current
therapeutic strategies to target CD6 perturb function. With the benefit of new structural data, this review
provides a critical analysis and interpretation of experiments in which various reagents have been
tested and offers some suggestions as how more effective drugs may be developed.
