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Review
. 2018 Jul;96(6):598-606.
doi: 10.1111/imcb.12039. Epub 2018 Apr 24.

Development of mucosal-associated invariant T cells

Hui-Fern Koay  1 , Dale I Godfrey  1 , Daniel G Pellicci  1
Affiliations
Review

Development of mucosal-associated invariant T cells

Hui-Fern Koay et al. Immunol Cell Biol. 2018 Jul.

Abstract

Mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells develop in the thymus and migrate into the periphery to become the largest antigen-specific αβ T-cell population in the human immune system. However, the frequency of MAIT cells varies widely between human individuals, and the basis for this is unclear. While MAIT cells are highly conserved through evolution and are phenotypically similar between humans and mice, they represent a much smaller proportion of total T cells in mice. In this review, we discuss how MAIT cells transition through a three-stage development pathway in both mouse and human thymus, and continue to mature and expand after they leave the thymus. Moreover, we will explore and speculate on how specific factors regulate different stages of this process.

Keywords: Development of MAIT cells; T-cell receptor; mucosal-associated invariant T cells.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
A three‐stage pathway for MAIT cell development in mice and humans. Competition between MAIT cells and NKT cells for a shared niche in mice.
Figure 2
Figure 2
A schematic depicting the percentage of MAIT cells of total T cells through ontogeny.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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