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Review
. 2015 Aug;145(4):468-75.
doi: 10.1111/imm.12481. Epub 2015 Jun 25.

Invariant natural killer T cells and their ligands: focus on multiple sclerosis

Joan O'Keeffe  1 , Maria Podbielska  2   3 , Edward L Hogan  2   4
Affiliations
Review

Invariant natural killer T cells and their ligands: focus on multiple sclerosis

Joan O'Keeffe et al. Immunology. 2015 Aug.

Abstract

Invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells are an innate population of T cells identified by the expression of an invariant T-cell receptor and reactivity to lipid-based antigens complexed with CD1d. They account for a small percentage of lymphocytes, but are extremely potent and play central roles in immunity to infection, in some cancers, and in autoimmunity. The list of relevant stimulatory lipids and glycolipid antigens now includes a range of endogenous self-antigens including the myelin-derived acetylated galactosylceramides. Recent progress in studies to identify the nature of lipid recognition for iNKT cells in autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis is likely to foster the development of therapeutic strategies aimed at harnessing iNKT cell activity.

Keywords: autoimmunity; human; innate lymphoid cells; neuroimmunology.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Chemical structures of various microbial lipids that bind CD1d. These include α-galactosyldiacylglycerol (αGalDag) from Borrelia burgdorferi, α-glucosyldiacylglycerol (α-GlcDAG) from Streptococcus pneumoniae, α-glucuronsylceramide (α-GLcACer), α-galacturonosylceramide (α-GalACer), and phosphatidyl-myo-inositol mannoside (PIM2).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Structure of the myelin-derived fast migrating cerebrosides (FMC). The basic glycosphingolipid structure shows where the R groups are positioned and includes a list of the substitutions giving rise to β-galactosylceramide (β-GalCer), FMC-5 and FMC-7 (adapted from Podbielska et al.75).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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