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Updated: May 30, 2026

Interview: Glycolipid Antigen Presentation by CD1d and the Therapeutic Potential of NKT cell Activation
Published on: December 31, 2007
Mechanisms of NK cell activation: CD4(+) T cells enter the scene
Franck Bihl1, Claire Germain, Carmelo Luci
1Institut de Pharmacologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique/Université de Nice-Sophia Antipolis, UMR6097, 660, route des Lucioles, 06560 Valbonne, France.
Abstract:
Natural killer (NK) cells are innate lymphocytes involved in immunosurveillance through their cytotoxic activity and their capacity to secrete inflammatory cytokines. NK cell activation is necessary to initiate effector functions and results from a complex series of molecular and cellular events. We review here the signals that trigger NK cells and discuss recent findings showing that, besides antigen-presenting cells, T cells can play a central role in the initiation of NK cell activation in lymph nodes.
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