An immunoreceptor tyrosine-based inhibition motif (ITIM), is a conserved sequence of amino acids (S/I/V/LxYxxI/V/L) that is found in the cytoplasmic tails of many inhibitory receptors of the immune system. After ITIM-possessing inhibitory receptors interact with their ligand, their ITIM motif becomes phosphorylated by enzymes of the Src kinases, allowing them to recruit other enzymes such as the phosphotyrosine phosphatases SHP-1 and SHP-2, or the inositol-phosphatase called SHIP. These phosphatases decrease the activation of molecules involved in cell signaling. A list of human candidate ITIM-containing proteins has been generated by proteome-wide scans.