NKTfh hücrelerinin gelişimi, fenotipi ve NKT10 hücreleri ile ilişkisi

Invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells are a unique T cell subset that resemble Natural Killer and memory T cells. After TCR-mediated stimulation by the antigen αGalCer, iNKT cells rapidly produce copious amounts of various cytokines. Three to six days later, Bcl6-expressing NKTFH cells arise and are detectable for about two weeks in vivo. In contrast, IL-10 producing NKT10 cells expand within two and three weeks following the GalCer challenge and are detectable for several months in vivo. However, little is known to date about the development and phenotype of NKTFH cells and their relation to NKT10 cells. To better characterize NKTFH cells, we studied the in vivo distribution of NKTFH cells in different murine organs and how this is influenced by the route of the antigen administration. To this end, we injected GalCer either intra-peritoneal or intra-venous and measured the frequency and phenotype of NKTFH cells in different organs by flow cytometer. Moreover, we studied the relationship of NKTFH and NKT10 cells by analysing the development of NKT10 cells in the absence of NKTFH cells in Bcl6-/- mice. Our data show, that the route of antigen challenge impacts the frequency and the phenotype of iNKT and NKTFH cells in vivo in different organs. Furthermore, the expansion of NKT10 cells was unimpaired in the absence of Bcl6, indicating that NKT10 cell expansion does not depend on NKTFH cells. These findings provide important information to better understand the development of NKTFH cells and their relationship with NKT10 cells