title: Glycolipid ligands of invariant natural killer T cells as vaccine adjuvants.
abstract: Invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells are a unique subset of T lymphocytes that recognize glycolipid antigens in the context of the antigen-presenting molecule CD1d. Upon glycolipid antigen stimulation, iNKT cells rapidly produce copious amounts of immunomodulatory cytokines, leading to potent activation of a variety of innate and adaptive immune cells. These immune-potentiating properties of iNKT cells hold great promise for the development of vaccine adjuvants. This review aims to summarize the immunomodulatory activities of iNKT cell ligands and to discuss prospects for developing iNKT cell-based vaccine adjuvants.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Medical Center North, Nashville, TN 37232, USA. sungjune.kim@vanderbilt.edu
authors.forename: Sungjune
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Saif
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lalani
authors.forename: Vrajesh V
authors.initials: VV
authors.lastname: Parekh
authors.forename: Lan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Luc
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Van Kaer
mesh_terms: D000276:Adjuvants, Immunologic / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006017:Glycolipids / Q000494:pharmacology*; D055611:Natural Killer T-Cells / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000276:Adjuvants, Immunologic; D006017:Glycolipids