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Current progress in γδ T-cell biology

Cellular & Molecular Immunology volume 7, pages 409–413 (2010)Cite this article

Abstract

T lymphocytes bearing γ- and δ-chain T-cell receptor heterodimers are named γδ T cells. Interestingly, γδ and αβ T cells share the same progenitors, and they undergo a fate decision in the thymus. Functional differentiation of γδ T cells occurs both inside and outside the thymus. Antigen recognition of γδ T-cell receptors is very unique, and the responses frequently exhibit innate characteristics. Nevertheless, peripheral γδ T cells exert a number of effector and regulatory functions. γδ T cells rapidly produce cytokines like interferon (IFN)-γ and IL-17 and promote inflammation, partly due to the inherent epigenetic and transcriptional programs, which facilitates a quick and extensive response. Moreover, γδ T cells lyse target cells directly, and this is necessary for pathogen or tumor clearance. γδ T cells can even serve as regulatory cells, and may contribute to immune suppression. Orchestration of γδ T-cell and other immune cell interactions may be critical for host defense and immune regulation. Recently, γδ T cells have been used for immunotherapy for infectious diseases and malignancy. In this review, we summarize the abstracts presented at the recent γδ T cell Conference held from 19 to 21 May 2010, in Kiel, Germany (please see the website for details: http://www.gammadelta-conference.uni-kiel.de/index.html).

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Dr Mark Bartlam and Dr Dieter Kabelitz for editing the manuscript. We are grateful to the organizers, Dr Dieter Kabelitz and Dr Daniela Wesch; they made this conference unforgettable. Due to the length of this report, we sincerely apologize to those participants for not mentioning their exciting results here. This work was supported by grants from the National Basic Research Program of China (2007CB914801) and the National Outstanding Young Scientist Award of National Natural Science Foundation of China (30725015).

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  1. Dr ZN Yin, College of Life Sciences, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China. E-mail: yinzn@nankai.edu.cn

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  1. College of Life Sciences, Nankai University, Tianjin, China

    Jianlei Hao, Xiaoli Wu, Siyuan Xia, Zheng Li, Ti Wen, Na Zhao, Zhenzhou Wu, Puyue Wang, Liqing Zhao & Zhinan Yin

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Hao, J., Wu, X., Xia, S. et al. Current progress in γδ T-cell biology. Cell Mol Immunol 7, 409–413 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/cmi.2010.50

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