Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Letter to the Editor
  • Published:

Invariant natural killer T cells treated with rapamycin or transforming growth factor-β acquire a regulatory function and suppress T effector lymphocytes

Cellular & Molecular Immunology volume 14, pages 392–394 (2017)Cite this article

Invariant natural killer T lymphocytes (iNKT) are hybrids between innate and adaptive immune cells and exert their effector functions by binding to glycolipids. Endogenous ligands can also stimulate iNKTs to perform their functions.1 However, they may also play a protective role, which was demonstrated in studies that exhibited their capability to elicit a regulatory potential. This novel potential was recently investigated by our group in human peripheral iNKTs.

iNKTs are characterized by the expression of a unique αβ T-cell receptor (TCR) composed of an invariant Vα24-Jα18α chain paired to a Vβ11 chain, which together are capable of recognizing glycolipids presented via the CD1d molecule.2,3 The observation that the glycolipid α-galactosylceramide (α-GalCer) is a potent stimulator of NKT cells has provided an important breakthrough in investigating their biology. α-GalCer is presented by CD1d to the Vα24-Jα18/Vβ11 TCR which induces iNKT expansion and activation to rapidly generate large amounts of various Th1, Th2 and Th17 cytokines and chemokines.1 Additionally, there is evidence that iNKTs expressing the transcription factor FOXP3are equipped with regulatory functions and modulate the immune response by producing “suppressive” cytokines.4,5

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1.

References

  1. Bendelac A, Savage PB, Teyton L . The biology of NKT cells. Annu Rev Immunol 2007; 25: 297–336 .

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Brigl M, Brenner MB . CD1: antigen presentation and T cell function. Annu Rev Immunol 2004; 22: 817–890 .

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Matsuda JL, Naidenko OV, Gapin L, Nakayama T, Taniguchi M, Wang CR et al. Tracking the response of natural killer T cells to a glycolipid antigen using CD1d tetramers. J Exp Med 2000; 192: 741–754 .

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  4. Godfrey DI, MacDonald HR, Kronenberg M, Smyth MJ, Van Kaer L . NKT cells: what’s in a name? Nat Rev Immunol 2004; 4: 231–237 .

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Sag D, Krause P, Hedrick CC, Kronenberg M, Wingender G . IL-10-producing NKT10 cells are a distinct regulatory invariant NKT cell subset. J Clin Invest 2014; 124: 3725–3740 .

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  6. Hongo D, Tang X, Baker J, Engleman EG, Strober S . Requirement for interactions of natural killer T cells and myeloid-derivedsuppressor cells for transplantation tolerance. Am J Transplant 2014; 14: 2467–2477 .

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  7. Scottà C, Esposito M, Fazekasova H, Fanelli G, Edozie FC, Ali N et al. Differential effects of rapamycin and retinoic acid on expansion, stability and suppressive qualities of human CD4(+)CD25(+)FOXP3(+) T regulatory cell subpopulations. Haematologica 2013; 98: 1291–1299 .

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

All of the authors are thankful to the Central Laboratory for Advanced Diagnostic and Biomedical Research (CLADIBIOR) and Department of Immunoregulation and Immune Intervention for providing the necessary facility to carry out the work. Financial support from the University of Palermo with the International PhD course in Immunopharmacology is also gratefully acknowledged.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Biopatologia e Biotecnologie Mediche, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy

    Giuliana Guggino, Francesco Dieli & Guido Sireci

  2. Department of Immunoregulation and Immune Intervention, King’s College London, London, UK

    Cristiano Scottà & Giovanna Lombardi

Authors
  1. Giuliana Guggino
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Cristiano Scottà
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Giovanna Lombardi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Francesco Dieli
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Guido Sireci
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Guido Sireci.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Guggino, G., Scottà, C., Lombardi, G. et al. Invariant natural killer T cells treated with rapamycin or transforming growth factor-β acquire a regulatory function and suppress T effector lymphocytes. Cell Mol Immunol 14, 392–394 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/cmi.2015.20

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/cmi.2015.20

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links