Sialic-acid-binding immunoglobulin-like lectin (Siglec) that plays a role in mediating cell-cell interactions and in maintaining immune cells in a resting state. Preferentially recognizes and binds alpha-2,3- and more avidly alpha-2,6-linked sialic acid-bearing glycans. Upon engagement of ligands such as C1q or syalylated glycoproteins, two immunoreceptor tyrosine-based inhibitory motifs (ITIMs) located in CD33 cytoplasmic tail are phosphorylated by Src-like kinases such as LCK. These phosphorylations provide docking sites for the recruitment and activation of protein-tyrosine phosphatases PTPN6/SHP-1 and PTPN11/SHP-2. In turn, these phosphatases regulate downstream pathways through dephosphorylation of signaling molecules. One of the repressive effect of CD33 on monocyte activation requires phosphoinositide 3-kinase/PI3K.
This gene encodes a receptor for the Fc portion of immunoglobulin G, and it is involved in the removal of antigen-antibody complexes from the circulation, as well as other other antibody-dependent responses. This gene (FCGR3A) is highly similar to another nearby gene (FCGR3B) located on chromosome 1. The receptor encoded by this gene is expressed on natural killer (NK) cells as an integral membrane glycoprotein anchored through a transmembrane peptide, whereas FCGR3B is expressed on polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN) where the receptor is anchored through a phosphatidylinositol (PI) linkage. Mutations in this gene have been linked to susceptibility to recurrent viral infections, susceptibility to systemic lupus erythematosus, and alloimmune neonatal neutropenia. Alternatively spliced transcript variants encoding different isoforms have been found for this gene.