Doğala yakın öldürücü T hücre alt gruplarının karakterizasyonu

iNKT cells are a unique subset of T cells. Unlike T cells, they recognize glycolipids via MHC1 like molecule, CD1d. After activation, they can produce both Th1 and Th2 cytokines. iNKT cells have several subsets. These subsets are distinguished by the transcription factors they express and the cytokines they produce. NKT1, NKT2, and NKT17 cell express the transcription factor PLZF, TBET, and RORγt at different levels. NKT2 cells are known as the main producer of iNKT cell-derived Th2 cytokines. However, in this study, splenic NKT2 cells produced less IL-4 than NKT1 cells after activation with either αGalCer, or PMA/Ionomycin. Therefore, we hypothesize that peripheral NKT2 cells are hypo-responsive. Additional work on cell signalling (NUR77) confirmed this hypothesis. Knowledge of the main source of iNKT cell-derived Th2-cytokines is essential to understand the role iNKT cells can play in various diseases and to improve iNKT cell-related diagnosis and therapy.