Innate and adaptive functions of the CD1 pathway of antigen presentation
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Published on: December 29, 2012
S H Park1, Y H Chiu, J Jayawardena
1Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA.
In the past few years, several studies have unravelled a novel pathway of antigen presentation to T cells of the mammalian immune system. The antigens are presented by CD1, which appears to have evolved to present glycolipid antigens to alphabeta T cells. CD1-restricted T cells are frequently autoreactive, and can promptly release key regulatory cytokines such as IL-4 and IFN-gamma. They have been implicated in a variety of autoimmune diseases including type I diabetes and lupus, in intracellular bacterial infections, and in tumor rejection. They are likely to be involved at the early, innate phase of these immune responses, providing a unique model to study the interface between the innate and adaptive immune systems.
In the past few years, several studies have unravelled a novel pathway of antigen presentation to T cells of the mammalian immune system. The antigens are presented by CD1, which appears to have evolved to present glycolipid antigens to alphabeta T cells. CD1-restricted T cells are frequently autoreactive, and can promptly release key regulatory cytokines such as IL-4 and IFN-gamma. They have been implicated in a variety of autoimmune diseases including type I diabetes and lupus, in intracellular bacterial infections, and in tumor rejection. They are likely to be involved at the early, innate phase of these immune responses, providing a unique model to study the interface between the innate and adaptive immune systems.
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