NK T cell-NK cell cross-talk: reciprocal interaction and activation?

Initiation and propagation of the immune response is the result of a series of coordinated cellular and biochemical interactions that lead to the activation of multiple cell types. It is now clear that an optimal immune response requires precise and rapid communication between different cell subsets. This phenomenon, referred to as cross-talk, is believed to be an essential component of the immune response that provides necessary inflammatory mediators and cytolytic activity for controlling infections and diseases. An example of effective cooperation between different cell types has been recently illustrated by the finding that specific activation of CD1-restricted natural killer T cells (NK T) can quickly lead to the activation of other subsets of cells, such as natural killer (NK) and CD8 T cells.