AUTHOR=Gumbleton Matthew , Kerr William G. TITLE=Role of inositol phospholipid signaling in natural killer cell biology JOURNAL=Frontiers in Immunology VOLUME=Volume 4 - 2013 YEAR=2013 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/immunology/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2013.00047 DOI=10.3389/fimmu.2013.00047 ISSN=1664-3224 ABSTRACT=Natural Killer (NK) cells are important in the host defense against malignancy and infection. At a cellular level NK cells are activated when signals from activating receptors exceed signaling from inhibitory receptors. At a molecular level NK cells undergo an education process to prevent autoimmunity. Mouse models have shown important roles for inositol phospholipid signaling in lymphocytes. NK cells from mice with deletion in different members of the PI3K signaling pathway have defective development, natural killer cell repertoire expression (NKRR) and effector function. Here we review the role of inositol phospholipid signaling in NK cell biology.