KLRK1 and cervical cancer: However, another study showed that in high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSILs) and cervical cancer associated with HPV16 infection, the expression of the NK-activating receptors NKp30, NKp45 and NKG2D (only in cervical cancer) is considerably decreased, which affects the cytolytic functionality of cells and may contribute to tumor progression 32.