Activated NKT cells increase dendritic cell migration and enhance CD8+ T cell responses in the skin

✍ Scribed by Anton V. Gorbachev; Robert L. Fairchild

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2006
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 372 KB
• Volume: 36
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0014-2980
• DOI: 10.1002/eji.200636075

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

Activated NKT cells produce cytokines such as IL‐4 and IFN‐γ that function locally to influence the strength and functional development of antigen‐specific T cells. Here we identify an alternative mechanism by which NKT cells influence the strength of T cell responses: through modulation of peripheral dendritic cell (DC) trafficking. NKT cell activation with α‐galactosylceramide induced high systemic levels of TNF‐α that mediated increased DC migration from skin to draining lymph nodes. This increased DC trafficking led to a threefold increase in effector T cell priming and in the immune response elicited to antigen challenge when α‐galactosylceramide was given at the time of immunization of the skin. These studies provide important implications for the use of NKT cell activation strategies to manipulate T cell‐mediated responses including responses to cutaneous tumors and graft vs. host disease.