Neuro-Oncology Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
Nuffield Department of Medicine, Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7DQ, UK.
Cells. 2021 Jun 30;10(7):1641. doi: 10.3390/cells10071641.
Glioblastoma is an aggressive and deadly cancer, but to date, immunotherapies have failed to make significant strides in improving prognoses for glioblastoma patients. One of the current challenges to developing immunological interventions for glioblastoma is our incomplete understanding of the numerous immunoregulatory mechanisms at play in the glioblastoma tumor microenvironment. We propose that Natural Killer T (NKT) cells, which are unconventional T lymphocytes that recognize lipid antigens presented by CD1d molecules, may play a key immunoregulatory role in glioblastoma. For example, evidence suggests that the activation of type I NKT cells can facilitate anti-glioblastoma immune responses. On the other hand, type II NKT cells are known to play an immunosuppressive role in other cancers, as well as to cross-regulate type I NKT cell activity, although their specific role in glioblastoma remains largely unclear. This review provides a summary of our current understanding of NKT cells in the immunoregulation of glioblastoma as well as highlights the involvement of NKT cells in other cancers and central nervous system diseases.
胶质母细胞瘤是一种侵袭性和致命性的癌症，但迄今为止，免疫疗法在改善胶质母细胞瘤患者的预后方面并未取得重大进展。开发胶质母细胞瘤免疫疗法的当前挑战之一是我们对胶质母细胞瘤肿瘤微环境中发挥作用的众多免疫调节机制了解不足。我们提出，自然杀伤 T（NKT）细胞是识别由 CD1d 分子呈递的脂质抗原的非常规 T 淋巴细胞，可能在胶质母细胞瘤中发挥关键的免疫调节作用。例如，有证据表明，I 型 NKT 细胞的激活可以促进抗胶质母细胞瘤免疫反应。另一方面，II 型 NKT 细胞在其他癌症中已知发挥免疫抑制作用，并且可以交叉调节 I 型 NKT 细胞的活性，尽管它们在胶质母细胞瘤中的具体作用在很大程度上仍不清楚。本综述总结了我们目前对 NKT 细胞在胶质母细胞瘤免疫调节中的理解，并强调了 NKT 细胞在其他癌症和中枢神经系统疾病中的参与。
