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Isolation and Expansion of Cytotoxic Cytokine-induced Killer T Cells for Cancer Treatment

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Natural Killer T Cell Diversity and Immunotherapy.

Eduardo I Tognarelli^1,2, Cristián Gutiérrez-Vera^1,3, Pablo A Palacios^1,3

¹Millennium Institute on Immunology and Immunotherapy, Santiago 8330025, Chile.

|December 23, 2023

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Invariant natural killer T cells (iNKTs) link innate and adaptive immunity by recognizing lipid antigens. Modulating iNKTs shows promise for treating infectious diseases and tumors.

Keywords:

antigen presentation cancer immunotherapy infectious disease inflammation natural killer T cells (NKTs)

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Published on: May 6, 2019

Area of Science:

Immunology
Cell Biology
Molecular Medicine

Background:

Invariant natural killer T cells (iNKTs) are unconventional T cells bridging innate and adaptive immunity.
iNKTs possess a unique T cell receptor (TCR) recognizing lipid antigens presented by CD1d molecules.
These cells secrete cytokines like interferon gamma (IFN-γ) and interleukin 4 (IL-4), influencing immune responses.

Purpose of the Study:

To review key features of iNKTs and their modulatory potential.
To discuss advances in activating and modulating iNKTs for therapeutic applications.
To explore the role of iNKTs in infectious diseases and cancer immunotherapy.

Main Methods:

Literature review of iNKT cell biology and function.
Analysis of modulatory strategies targeting iNKTs.
Synthesis of current research on iNKTs in disease contexts.

Main Results:

iNKTs exhibit both pro-inflammatory and immunosuppressive capacities.
Modulators like α-galactosylceramide (α-GalCer) variants can shift adaptive immune responses.
Evidence supports iNKT involvement in host defense against infections and tumor surveillance.

Conclusions:

iNKTs are versatile immune cells with significant therapeutic potential.
Targeted modulation of iNKTs offers promising strategies for various pathologies.
Further research into iNKT-based therapies could address major healthcare challenges.