Sharif S, Delovitch T L
Autoimmunity/Diabetes Group, The John P. Robarts Research Institute, London, Ontario, Canada.
Arch Immunol Ther Exp (Warsz). 2001;49 Suppl 1:S23-31.
Natural killer T (NKT) cells, which comprise a minor population of T cells in primary and secondary lymphoid organs, possess phenotypic characteristics of both NK and T cells. NKT cells respond to various external stimuli by an early burst of cytokines, including IL-4 and IFN-gamma. Thus, a key immunoregulatory role has been attributed to them. Autoimmune diseases, especially type I diabetes (TID), may be caused by dysregulation of the immune system, which leads to hyporesponsiveness of regulatory T helper 2 (Th2) cells and promotion of autoimmune Th1 cells. Furthermore, several lines of evidence exist to support the notion that an NKT cell deficiency in individuals at risk of TID may be causal to TID. As a result, targeting NKT cells using immunotherapeutic agents may prove beneficial in the prevention or recurrence of TID. Indeed, our data demonstrate that stimulation of NKT cells with a specific ligand prevents the onset and recurrence of TID in nonobese diabetic (NOD) mice.
自然杀伤T（NKT）细胞在初级和次级淋巴器官中仅占T细胞的一小部分，具有NK细胞和T细胞的表型特征。NKT细胞通过早期释放包括白细胞介素-4（IL-4）和干扰素-γ（IFN-γ）在内的细胞因子对各种外部刺激作出反应。因此，它们被认为具有关键的免疫调节作用。自身免疫性疾病，尤其是I型糖尿病（TID），可能是由免疫系统失调引起的，这会导致调节性辅助性T细胞2（Th2）功能低下，并促进自身免疫性Th1细胞。此外，有几条证据支持这样一种观点，即有患TID风险的个体中NKT细胞缺乏可能是TID的病因。因此，使用免疫治疗药物靶向NKT细胞可能对预防或复发TID有益。事实上，我们的数据表明，用特定配体刺激NKT细胞可预防非肥胖糖尿病（NOD）小鼠发生TID及其复发。
