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Review
. 2024 Aug 29:15:1441634.
doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1441634. eCollection 2024.

Thymic development of human natural killer T cells: recent advances and implications for immunotherapy

Daniel G Pellicci  1   2   3 , Naeimeh Tavakolinia  1   2 , Louis Perriman  1   4   5 , Stuart P Berzins  2   5 , Christopher Menne  1
Affiliations
Review

Thymic development of human natural killer T cells: recent advances and implications for immunotherapy

Daniel G Pellicci et al. Front Immunol. .

Abstract

Invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells are a subset of lipid-reactive, unconventional T cells that have anti-tumor properties that make them a promising target for cancer immunotherapy. Recent studies have deciphered the developmental pathway of human MAIT and Vγ9Vδ2 γδ-T cells as well as murine iNKT cells, yet our understanding of human NKT cell development is limited. Here, we provide an update in our understanding of how NKT cells develop in the human body and how knowledge regarding their development could enhance human treatments by targeting these cells.

Keywords: cytokines; cytotoxic granules; immunotherapy; unconventional T cell development; unconventional T cells.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Human and mouse iNKT subsets. Subsets of iNKT cells in humans (left) and mice (right). Key surface markers, cytokines and transcription factors that define the subsets are shown.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Human thymic iNKT cell development. Proposed pathway of human thymic iNKT cell development.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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