title: Thinking inside the box: endogenous α-anomeric lipid antigens.
abstract: The most powerful iNKT cell antigen is α-galactosylceramide (α-GalCer), derived from the marine sponge. However, α-anomeric glycolipids are thought to be absent in mammals. In this issue of Immunity, Kain et al., (2014) demonstrate the presence of mammalian α-linked glycosylceramides, such as α-GalCer.
authors.affiliation: Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine at Boston Children's Hospital and Department of Microbiology and Immunobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
authors.forename: Jessica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine at Boston Children's Hospital and Department of Microbiology and Immunobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
authors.forename: Ji Hyung
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine at Boston Children's Hospital and Department of Microbiology and Immunobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA. Electronic address: florian.winau@childrens.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Florian
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Winau
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000201:enzymology*; D005963:Glucosylceramides / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D006801:Humans; D055611:Natural Killer T-Cells / Q000276:immunology*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000201:enzymology*
chemical_list: D005963:Glucosylceramides