Matsuda Jennifer L, Mallevaey Thierry, Scott-Browne James, Gapin Laurent
Integrated Department of Immunology, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, National Jewish Medical and Research Center, Denver, CO 80206, USA.
Curr Opin Immunol. 2008 Jun;20(3):358-68. doi: 10.1016/j.coi.2008.03.018. Epub 2008 May 22.
Natural Killer T cells are a distinct lymphocyte lineage that regulates a broad range of immune responses. NKT cells recognize glycolipids presented by the non-classical MHC molecule CD1d. Structural insight into the TCR/glycolipid/CD1d tri-complex has revealed an unusual and unexpected mode of recognition. Recent studies have also identified some of the signaling events during NKT cell development that give NKT cells their innate phenotype. Pathogen-derived glycolipid antigens continue to be found, and new mechanisms of NKT cell activation have been described. Finally, NKT cells have been shown to be remarkably versatile in function during various immune responses. Whether these extensive functional capacities can be attributed to a single population sensitive to environmental cues or if functionally distinct NKT cell subpopulations exist remains unresolved.
自然杀伤T细胞是一种独特的淋巴细胞谱系，可调节广泛的免疫反应。NKT细胞识别由非经典MHC分子CD1d呈递的糖脂。对TCR/糖脂/CD1d三复合体的结构洞察揭示了一种不同寻常且出乎意料的识别模式。最近的研究还确定了NKT细胞发育过程中的一些信号事件，这些事件赋予了NKT细胞先天表型。源自病原体的糖脂抗原不断被发现，并且已经描述了NKT细胞激活的新机制。最后，在各种免疫反应中，NKT细胞已被证明在功能上具有显著的多样性。这些广泛的功能能力是可归因于对环境线索敏感的单一群体，还是存在功能不同的NKT细胞亚群，仍未得到解决。
