TY - JOUR
T1 - CD1d- mediated recognition of an α-galactosylceramide by natural killer T cells is highly conserved through mammalian evolution
AU - Brossay, Laurent
AU - Chioda, Mariacristina
AU - Burdin, Nicolas
AU - Koezuka, Yasuhiko
AU - Casorati, Giulia
AU - Dellabona, Paolo
AU - Kronenberg, Mitchell
PY - 1998/10/19
Y1 - 1998/10/19
N2 - Natural killer (NK) T cells are a lymphocyte subset with a distinct surface phenotype, an invariant T cell receptor (TCR), and reactivity to CD1. Here we show that mouse NK T cells can recognize human CD1d as well as mouse CD1, and human NK T cells also recognize both CD1 homologues. The unprecedented degree of conservation of this T cell recognition system suggests that it is fundamentally important. Mouse or human CD1 molecules can present the glycolipid α-galactosylceramide (α-GalCer) to NK T cells from either species. Human T cells, preselected for invariant Vα24 TCR expression, uniformly recognize α-GalCer presented by either human CD1d or mouse CD1. In addition, culture of human peripheral blood cells with α- GalCer led to the dramatic expansion of NK T cells with an invariant (Vα24
+) TCR and the release of large amounts of cytokines. Because invariant Vα14
+ and Vα24
+ NK T cells have been implicated both in the control of autoimmune disease and the response to tumors, our data suggest that α-GalCer could be a useful agent for modulating human immune responses by activation of the highly conserved NK T cell subset.
AB - Natural killer (NK) T cells are a lymphocyte subset with a distinct surface phenotype, an invariant T cell receptor (TCR), and reactivity to CD1. Here we show that mouse NK T cells can recognize human CD1d as well as mouse CD1, and human NK T cells also recognize both CD1 homologues. The unprecedented degree of conservation of this T cell recognition system suggests that it is fundamentally important. Mouse or human CD1 molecules can present the glycolipid α-galactosylceramide (α-GalCer) to NK T cells from either species. Human T cells, preselected for invariant Vα24 TCR expression, uniformly recognize α-GalCer presented by either human CD1d or mouse CD1. In addition, culture of human peripheral blood cells with α- GalCer led to the dramatic expansion of NK T cells with an invariant (Vα24
+) TCR and the release of large amounts of cytokines. Because invariant Vα14
+ and Vα24
+ NK T cells have been implicated both in the control of autoimmune disease and the response to tumors, our data suggest that α-GalCer could be a useful agent for modulating human immune responses by activation of the highly conserved NK T cell subset.
KW - Antigen presentation
KW - CD1
KW - Cytokines
KW - Glycolipid
KW - Natural killer T cells
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U2 - 10.1084/jem.188.8.1521
DO - 10.1084/jem.188.8.1521
M3 - Article
C2 - 9782129
AN - SCOPUS:0032547849
VL - 188
SP - 1521
EP - 1528
JO - Journal of Experimental Medicine
JF - Journal of Experimental Medicine
SN - 0022-1007
IS - 8
ER -