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REVIEW article

Front. Immunol.
Sec. T Cell Biology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1472854
This article is part of the Research Topic Community Series in the Role of CD1- and MR1-restricted T cells in Immunity and Disease: Volume II View all 16 articles

The surveillance of viral infections by the unconventional Type I NKT cell

Provisionally accepted
Varshini Rakjashekar Varshini Rakjashekar 1Lauren Stern Lauren Stern 1Catarina Almeida Catarina Almeida 2Barry Slobedman Barry Slobedman 1Allison Abendroth Allison Abendroth 1,3*
  • 1 School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
  • 2 Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
  • 3 The University of Sydney, Darlington, Australia

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Type I NKT cells, also known as Invariant Natural Killer T (iNKT) cells, are a subpopulation of unconventional, innate-like T (ILT) cells which can proficiently influence downstream immune effector functions. Type I NKT cells express a semi-invariant ab T cell receptor (TCR) that recognises lipid-based ligands specifically presented by the nonclassical cluster of differentiation (CD1) protein d (CD1d) molecule. Due to their potent immunomodulatory functional capacity, type I NKT cells are being increasingly considered in prophylactic and therapeutic approaches towards various diseases, including as vaccine-adjuvants. As viruses do not encode lipid synthesis, it is surprising that many studies have shown that some viruses can directly impede type I NKT activation through downregulating CD1d expression. Therefore, in order to harness type I NKT cells for potential anti-viral therapeutic uses, it is critical that we fully appreciate how the CD1d-iNKT cell axis interacts with viral immunity. In this review, we examine clinical findings that underpin the importance of type I NKT cell function in viral infections. This review also explores how certain viruses employ immunoevasive mechanisms and directly encode functions to target CD1d expression and type I NKT cell function. Overall, we suggest that the CD1d-iNKT cell axis may hold greater gravity within viral infections than what was previously appreciated.

    Keywords: Type I NKT cell, viral infections, CD1d-iNKT cell axis, unconventional innate-line T cell, Type I iNKT cell function

    Received: 30 Jul 2024; Accepted: 26 Aug 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Rakjashekar, Stern, Almeida, Slobedman and Abendroth. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Allison Abendroth, School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, 2006, New South Wales, Australia

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.