Department of Immunology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Denver, CO 80206.
J Immunol. 2014 May 15;192(10):4475-80. doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.1400119.
The evolutionary conservation of T lymphocyte subsets bearing αβ TCRs using invariant α-chains is indicative of unique and important functions. Among these T lymphocytes, NKT cells that express an invariant TCRα-chain and recognize lipid Ags presented by the nonclassical MHC class I molecule CD1d are probably the most studied. However, a new population of evolutionarily conserved T cells with another invariant TCRα rearrangement was recently characterized. These cells, which are very abundant in humans, tend to reside in mucosal tissues and, therefore, were named mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells. Until recently, little was known about MAIT cells; however, several recent advances in our understanding of MAIT cell characteristics and functions secure their upcoming rise to fame in the immunology field and in clinical practice.
使用不变的α 链来保持 T 淋巴细胞亚群的 αβ TCR 的进化保守性表明其具有独特而重要的功能。在这些 T 淋巴细胞中,表达不变的 TCRα 链并识别由非经典 MHC Ⅰ类分子 CD1d 呈递的脂质抗原的 NKT 细胞可能是研究最多的。然而,最近又描述了另一种具有进化保守性的 TCRα 重排的新型 T 细胞群体。这些细胞在人类中非常丰富,往往存在于黏膜组织中,因此被命名为黏膜相关不变 T(MAIT)细胞。直到最近,人们对 MAIT 细胞知之甚少;然而,我们对 MAIT 细胞特性和功能的理解的一些最新进展确保了它们即将在免疫学领域和临床实践中声名鹊起。