title: The role of invariant NKT cells in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.
abstract: Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is a curative procedure for a number of hematological malignancies including leukemia and lymphoma. However, the anti-leukemia (graft-versus-leukemia, GVL) effect mediated by T cells transferred to the host with the allograft is often negated by the graft-versus-host (GVH) reaction imparted by the same cells. Acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD), an allogeneic reaction triggered in response to minor and major histocompatibility antigen disparities between donor and recipient, remains the main source of morbidity and mortality in T-cell-replete allogeneic HSCT. Here we review the biological properties, the pre-clinical work, and the recent clinical observations suggesting that invariant natural killer (iNK) T cells, a CD1d-restricted subset of immunoregulatory T cells, are important regulators of GVH and GVL reactions. Further, we outline strategies for manipulating iNKT cells to translate their therapeutic promise into clinical benefit in the context of allogeneic HSCT.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Hematology, Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, Hammersmith Hospital, Du Cane Road, London W12 0NN, United Kingdom. a.karadimitris@imperial.ac.uk
authors.forename: Anastasios
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Karadimitris
authors.forename: Aristeidis
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chaidos
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D018949:Antigens, CD1 / Q000378:metabolism; D006086:Graft vs Host Disease / Q000209:etiology / Q000276:immunology*; D020544:Graft vs Leukemia Effect / Q000276:immunology; D019337:Hematologic Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology / Q000628:therapy*; D018380:Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation; D006801:Humans; D056747:Immunomodulation; D055611:Natural Killer T-Cells / Q000276:immunology*; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000276:immunology*; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous
chemical_list: D018949:Antigens, CD1