Erschienen in:
01.12.2005 | Viewpoint
Natural killer T cells and rheumatoid arthritis: friend or foe?
verfasst von:
Dirk Elewaut
Erschienen in:
Arthritis Research & Therapy
|
Ausgabe 2/2005
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Excerpt
Natural Killer T (NKT) cells have been described as T lymphocytes expressing NK receptors such as NK1.1. This lymphocyte subset consists of several subpopulations, each with distinct characteristics [
1,
2]. Unlike conventional T cells, the vast majority of mouse NKT cells recognize glycolipid antigens including α-galactosylceramide (α-GalCer), a glycosphingolipid originally isolated from marine sponges that can not be found in mammalian cells [
3]. α-GalCer is presented by an MHC class I like antigen presenting molecule, CD1d. Several studies have highlighted the unique features of NKT cells, because their T cell receptor (TCR) repertoire is highly skewed with an invariant TCR-α rearrangement, Vα14-Jα18. In humans, a similar NKT cell subset with an invariant TCR-α chain, Vα24, exists. Therefore, these cells are often referred to as Vα
i NKT cells. …