Lineage differentiation program of iNKT cells

Abstract

iNKT cells develop as memory T cells in the thymus and differentiate into various effector lineages. Recently, we have defined three subsets of iNKT cells (NKT1, NKT2 and NKT17) that produced IFN IL4 and IL17 respectively in the thymus. In the periphery, iNKT cells differentiate into NKTFH and NKT10 cells, which produce IL21 and IL10 upon activation with -galactosylceramide (or KRN7000). IL10 produced from NKT10 cells suppress immunity and inhibited autoimmunity such as experimental allergic encephalitis (EAE). At the steady state NKT10 cells normally reside in the fat tissue and modulates the function of regulatory T cells and M2 type macrophages. These cells can also be induced by in vitro culture system, and we will discuss about their potential role in inducing transplantation tolerance.