The adaptor molecule SAP (signaling lymphocytic activation molecule-associated protein) plays a critical role during NK T (NKT) cell development in humans and mice. In CD4(+) T cells, SAP interacts with the tyrosine kinase Fyn to deliver signals required for TCR-induced Th2-type cytokine production. To determine whether the SAP-dependent signals controlling NKT cell ontogeny rely on its binding...

Lymphocytes that combine features of T cells and natural killer (NK) cells are named natural killer T (NKT) cells. The majority of NKT cells in mice bear highly conserved invariant Valpha chains, and to date two populations of such canonical NKT cells are known in mice: those that express Valpha14 and those that express Valpha7.2. Both populations are selected by nonpolymorphic major histocompa...

We examined the in vivo behavior of liver natural killer T cells (NKT cells) by intravital fluorescence microscopic imaging of mice in which a green fluorescent protein cDNA was used to replace the gene encoding the chemokine receptor CXCR6. NKT cells, which account for most CXCR6(+) cells in liver, were found to crawl within hepatic sinusoids at 10-20 microm/min and to stop upon T cell antigen...

Natural killer T (NKT) cells, which comprise a minor population of T cells in primary and secondary lymphoid organs, possess phenotypic characteristics of both NK and T cells. NKT cells respond to various external stimuli by an early burst of cytokines, including IL-4 and IFN-gamma. Thus, a key immunoregulatory role has been attributed to them. Autoimmune diseases, especially type I diabetes (T...

Type I natural killer T (NKT) cells have gained considerable interest in anticancer immune therapy over the last decade. This "innate-like" T lymphocyte subset has the unique ability to recognize foreign and self-derived glycolipid antigens in association with the CD1d molecule expressed by antigen-presenting cells. An important property of these cells is to bridge innate and acquired immune re...

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an important human opportunistic pathogen, accounting for a significant fraction of hospital-acquired lung infections. CD1d-restricted NKT cells comprise an unusual innate-like T cell subset that plays important roles in both bacterial and viral infections. Previous reports have differed in their conclusions regarding the role of NKT cells in clearance of P. aeruginosa...

Exposure to ozone, which is a major component of air pollution, induces a form of asthma that occurs in the absence of adaptive immunity. Although ozone-induced asthma is characterized by airway neutrophilia, and not eosinophilia, it is nevertheless associated with airway hyperreactivity (AHR), which is a cardinal feature of asthma. Because AHR induced by allergens requires the presence of natu...

Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) is a leading cause of childhood renal disease Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS). The involvement of renal cytokines and chemokines is suspected to play a critical role in disease progression. In current article, we tested the hypothesis that NKT cells are involved in Stx2-induced pathology in vivo. To address this hypothesis we compared Stx2 toxicity ...

Natural killer T (NKT) cells are a conserved subpopulation of lymphocytes that recognize glycolipid antigens in a CD1d context. Upon activation through their semi-invariant T cell receptor, these cells rapidly release large amounts of immunomodulating Th1 and Th2 cytokines. NKT cells have therefore been implicated in immune responses controlling various diseases, including infection, cancer, tr...

Activation of natural killer-like T (NKT) cells with the CD1d ligand alpha-galactosylceramide enhances T-dependent humoral immune responses against coadministered T-dependent Ag. At present, there is little information on the mechanisms involved other than a dependence on CD1d expression by antigen-presenting cells and/or development of the NKT subset. We therefore tested the hypothesis that di...