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Updated: Jan 21, 2026

Micro-scale Engineering for Cell Biology
Published on: October 1, 2007
The biology and functional importance of MAIT cells
Dale I Godfrey1,2, Hui-Fern Koay3,4, James McCluskey3
1Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia. godfrey@unimelb.edu.au.
Abstract:
In recent years, a population of unconventional T cells called 'mucosal-associated invariant T cells' (MAIT cells) has captured the attention of immunologists and clinicians due to their abundance in humans, their involvement in a broad range of infectious and non-infectious diseases and their unusual specificity for microbial riboflavin-derivative antigens presented by the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I-like protein MR1. MAIT cells use a limited T cell antigen receptor (TCR) repertoire with public antigen specificities that are conserved across species. They can be activated by TCR-dependent and TCR-independent mechanisms and exhibit rapid, innate-like effector responses. Here we review evidence showing that MAIT cells are a key component of the immune system and discuss their basic biology, development, role in disease and immunotherapeutic potential.
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