Bianchini Elena, De Biasi Sara, Simone Anna Maria, Ferraro Diana, Sola Patrizia, Cossarizza Andrea, Pinti Marcello
Department of Life Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Via Campi 287, 41125 Modena, Italy.
Department of Surgery, Medicine, Dentistry and Morphological Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Via Campi 287, 41125 Modena, Italy.
Immunol Lett. 2017 Mar;183:1-7. doi: 10.1016/j.imlet.2017.01.009. Epub 2017 Jan 21.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic progressive inflammatory demyelinating disorder of the central nervous system, and in several countries is a leading cause of permanent neurological disability in young adults, particularly women. MS is considered an autoimmune disease, caused by an aberrant immune response to environmental triggers in genetically susceptible subjects. However, the contribution of the innate or of the adaptive immune system to the development and progression of the disease has not yet been fully elucidated. Innate-like T lymphocytes are unconventional T cells that bridge the innate and adaptive arms of the immune system, because they use a T cell receptor to sense external ligands, but behave like innate cells when they rapidly respond to stimuli. These cells could play an important role in the pathogenesis of MS. Here, we focus on invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells and mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells, and we review the current knowledge on their biology and possible involvement in MS. Although several studies have evaluated the frequency and functions of iNKT and MAIT cells both in MS patients and in experimental mouse models, contradictory observations have been reported, and it is not clear whether they exert a protective or a pro-inflammatory and harmful role. A better understanding of how immune cells are involved in MS, and of their interactions could be of great interest for the development of new therapeutic strategies.
多发性硬化症(MS)是一种中枢神经系统的慢性进行性炎性脱髓鞘疾病,在多个国家是年轻成年人,尤其是女性永久性神经残疾的主要原因。MS被认为是一种自身免疫性疾病,由遗传易感个体对环境触发因素的异常免疫反应引起。然而,先天性或适应性免疫系统对该疾病发生和发展的作用尚未完全阐明。固有样T淋巴细胞是非常规T细胞,它们连接免疫系统的先天性和适应性分支,因为它们使用T细胞受体来感知外部配体,但在快速响应刺激时表现得像固有细胞。这些细胞可能在MS的发病机制中起重要作用。在这里,我们重点关注不变自然杀伤T(iNKT)细胞和黏膜相关不变T(MAIT)细胞,并综述目前关于它们的生物学特性以及可能参与MS的相关知识。尽管多项研究评估了MS患者和实验性小鼠模型中iNKT细胞和MAIT细胞的频率及功能,但报道的观察结果相互矛盾,尚不清楚它们发挥的是保护作用还是促炎及有害作用。更好地了解免疫细胞如何参与MS及其相互作用,可能对开发新的治疗策略具有重要意义。