Immunotherapeutic strategies targeting natural killer T cell responses in cancer.

ABSTRACT: Natural killer T (NKT) cells are a unique subset of lymphocytes that bridge the innate and adaptive immune system. NKT cells possess a classic αβ T cell receptor (TCR) that is able to recognize self and foreign glycolipid antigens presented by the nonclassical class I major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecule, CD1d. Type I NKT cells (referred to as invariant NKT cells) express a semi-invariant Vα14Jα18 TCR in mice and Vα24Jα18 TCR in humans. Type II NKT cells are CD1d-restricted T cells that express a more diverse set of TCR α chains. The two types of NKT cells often exert opposing effects especially in tumor immunity, where type II cells generally suppress tumor immunity while type I NKT cells can enhance anti-tumor immune responses. In this review, we focus on the role of NKT cells

SUBMITTER: Shissler SC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5580089 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature