It has been shown that CD1d expression and glycolipid-reactive, CD1d-restricted NKT cells exacerbate the development of obesity and insulin resistance in mice. However, the relevant CD1d-expressing cells that influence the effects of NKT cells on the progression of obesity remain incompletely defined. In this study, we have demonstrated that 3T3-L1 adipocytes can present endogenous ligands to N...

CD1d is an MHC class I-like molecule comprised of a transmembrane glycoprotein (heavy chain) associated with β(2)-microglobulin (β(2)m) that presents lipid antigens to NKT cells. Initial folding of the heavy chain involves its glycan-dependent association with calreticulin (CRT), calnexin (CNX), and the thiol oxidoreductase ERp57, and is followed by assembly with β(2)m to form the heterodimer. ...

Natural killer T (NKT) cells are known to modulate T cell responses during autoimmunity, tolerance, and antitumor immunity; however, their potential role in regulating the immune response to injury has not been reported. Using a murine model of burn injury, we investigated whether CD1d-restricted NKT cells played a role in the T cell suppression that occurs early after injury. A functional role...

CD1d molecules are MHC class I-like molecules that present glycolipids to iNKT cells. The highly conserved interaction between CD1d:α-Galactosylceramide (αGC) complexes and the iNKT TCR not only defines this population of αβ T cells but can also be used for its direct identification. Therefore, CD1d oligomers are a widely used tool for iNKT cell related investigations. To this end, the lipid ch...

Invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells are a unique population of lipid-reactive CD1d-restricted innate-like T lymphocytes. Despite being a minor population, they serve as an early source of cytokines and promote immunological crosstalk thus bridging innate and adaptive immunity. Diseases ranging from allergy, autoimmunity, and cancer, as well as infectious diseases, including viral infection,...

Innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) are a heterogeneous family of immune cells that play a critical role in a variety of immune processes including host defence against infection, wound healing and tissue repair. Whether these cells are involved in lipid-dependent immunity remains unexplored. Here we show that murine ILCs from a variety of tissues express the lipid-presenting molecule CD1d, with group...

Natural killer (NK) T cells are activated by synthetic or self-glycolipids and implicated in innate host resistance to a range of viral, bacterial, and protozoan pathogens. Despite the immunogenicity of microbial lipoglycans and their promiscuous binding to CD1d, no pathogen-derived glycolipid antigen presented by this pathway has been identified to date. In the current work, we show increased ...

Natural killer T (NKT) cells are unique T lymphocytes that recognize CD1d-bound lipid antigens and play an important role in both innate and acquired immune responses against infectious diseases and tumors. We have already shown that a vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) infection results in the rapid inhibition of murine CD1d-mediated antigen presentation to NKT cells. In the present study, it wa...

The use of Abs that induce tumor cell death together with immunostimulatory reagents to activate innate and adaptive immune cells has emerged as a potent approach for the treatment of cancer. We have previously demonstrated that the use of three mAbs (anti-DR5, anti-CD40, anti-CD137) termed TriMab can induce rejection in a majority of mice with established experimental or carcinogen-induced tum...

Innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) are a heterogeneous family of immune cells that play a critical role in a variety of immune processes including host defence against infection, wound healing and tissue repair. Whether these cells are involved in lipid-dependent immunity remains unexplored. Here we show that murine ILCs from a variety of tissues express the lipid-presenting molecule CD1d, with group...