title: From the Deep Sea to Everywhere: Environmental Antigens for iNKT Cells.
abstract: Invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells are a unique subset of innate T cells that share features with innate NK cells and adaptive memory T cells. The first iNKT cell antigen described was found 1993 in a marine sponge and it took over 10 years for other, bacterial antigens to be described. Given the paucity of known bacterial iNKT cell antigens, it appeared as if iNKT cells play a very specialist role in the protection against few, rare and unusual pathogenic bacteria. However, in the last few years several publications painted a very different picture, suggesting that antigens for iNKT cells are found almost ubiquitous in the environment. These environmental iNKT cell antigens can shape the distribution, phenotype and function of iNKT cells. Here, these recent findings will be reviewed and their implications for the field will be outlined.
authors.affiliation: Izmir International Biomedicine and Genome Institute (iBG-izmir), Dokuz Eylul University Health Campus, Balcova, 35340, Izmir, Turkey. gerhard.wingender@deu.edu.tr.
authors.forename: Gerhard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wingender
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000941:Antigens / Q000737:chemistry; D016207:Cytokines / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D004777:Environment; D006706:Homeostasis; D006801:Humans; D007113:Immunity, Innate; D007422:Intestines / Q000276:immunology; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation / Q000276:immunology*; D009092:Mucous Membrane / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology; D055611:Natural Killer T-Cells / Q000276:immunology*; D010641:Phenotype; D011161:Porifera; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000276:immunology*; D013559:Symbiosis; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000941:Antigens; D016207:Cytokines
keywords: Environmental antigens; Innate T cells; Invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells; Mucosal immunology