title: A role for natural killer T cells in asthma.
abstract: In several mouse models, natural killer T cells have recently been found to be required for the development of airway hyper-reactivity, a cardinal feature of asthma. Moreover, in patients with chronic asthma, natural killer T cells with a T-helper-2-like phenotype (that is, that express CD4 and produce T helper 2 cytokines) are present in the lungs in large numbers. In this Opinion article, we suggest that natural killer T cells, which express a restricted T-cell receptor and respond to glycolipids rather than protein antigens, have a previously unsuspected but crucial role, distinct from that of T helper 2 cells, in the pathogenesis of asthma.
authors.affiliation: Division of Immunology, Children's Hospital Boston, Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, 1 Blackfan Circle, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA. dale.umetsu@childrens.harvard.edu
authors.forename: Dale T
authors.initials: DT
authors.lastname: Umetsu
authors.forename: Rosemarie H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: DeKruyff
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001249:Asthma / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000276:immunology*; D051379:Mice; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell