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Updated: Jan 13, 2026

Selective Harvesting of Marginating-hepatic Leukocytes
Published on: July 21, 2016
MAIT Cells in Liver Disease
Adiba I Azad1, Florencia Gutierrez1, Gregory J Gores1
1Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55905, USA.
None:
Mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells are abundant innate-like T lymphocytes in the human liver which can provide antimicrobial defense, amplify inflammatory processes and mediate tissue repair and fibrosis depending on microenvironmental cues. Chronic liver diseases of diverse etiologies, including viral hepatitis, metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, alcohol-associated liver disease, biliary tract disease, autoimmune hepatitis and hepatocellular carcinoma are accompanied by numerical and functional adjustments in the MAIT cell population. In this review, we integrate existing data on MAIT cell markers and functions in diverse liver diseases, comparing how these cells are similarly or differentially shaped by distinct pathogenic contexts. Finally, we propose a spatially anchored conceptual and technical framework to study MAIT cell biology in liver disease.
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