Peter Medawar Building for Pathogen Research, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3SY, UK; National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Oxford Biomedical Research Centre (BRC), John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, OX3 9DU, UK; Translational Gastroenterology Unit, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, OX3 9DU, UK.
National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Oxford Biomedical Research Centre (BRC), John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, OX3 9DU, UK; Respiratory Medicine Unit, Nuffield Department of Medicine Experimental Medicine, University of Oxford, OX3 9DU, Oxfordshire, UK.
Mol Immunol. 2021 Feb;130:154-158. doi: 10.1016/j.molimm.2020.12.017. Epub 2020 Dec 25.
Mucosal associated invariant T (MAIT) cells have a recognised innate-like capacity for antibacterial host defence, consequent on the specificity of their T cell receptor (TCR) for small molecule metabolites produced by a range of prokaryotic and fungal species, their effector memory phenotype, and their expression of cytotoxic molecules. However, recent studies have identified at least two other important functions of MAIT cells in antiviral immunity and in tissue homeostasis and repair. Each are related to distinct transcriptional programmes, which are activated differentially according to the specific immune context. Here we discuss these diverse functions, we review the evidence for the newly identified role of MAIT cells in promoting tissue repair, and we discuss emerging data pointing to the future directions of MAIT cell research including roles in cancer, in antiviral immunity and recent studies in the immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Overall these studies have made us aware of the potential for pleiotropic roles of MAIT cells and related cell populations in micee and humans, and have created a simple and attractive new paradigm for regulation in barrier tissues, where antigen and tissue damage are sensed, integrated and interpreted.
黏膜相关不变 T（MAIT）细胞具有公认的先天样抗菌宿主防御能力，这是由于其 T 细胞受体（TCR）对多种原核和真菌物种产生的小分子代谢物的特异性、效应记忆表型以及细胞毒性分子的表达。然而，最近的研究已经确定了 MAIT 细胞在抗病毒免疫以及组织稳态和修复中的至少另外两个重要功能。每个功能都与独特的转录程序相关，这些程序根据特定的免疫背景而不同地激活。在这里，我们讨论这些不同的功能，我们回顾了新发现的 MAIT 细胞在促进组织修复中的作用的证据，并讨论了指向 MAIT 细胞研究未来方向的新兴数据，包括在癌症、抗病毒免疫以及最近对 SARS-CoV-2 感染的免疫反应中的作用。总的来说，这些研究使我们意识到 MAIT 细胞和相关细胞群在小鼠和人类中具有多效性作用的潜力，并为在屏障组织中进行抗原和组织损伤的感知、整合和解释创造了一个简单而有吸引力的新调控范式。
