| First Author | Lynch L | Year | 2015 |
| Journal | Nat Immunol | Volume | 16 |
| Issue | 1 | Pages | 85-95 |
| PubMed ID | 25436972 | Mgi Jnum | J:222608 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:5644923 | Doi | 10.1038/ni.3047 |
| Citation | Lynch L, et al. (2015) Regulatory iNKT cells lack expression of the transcription factor PLZF and control the homeostasis of T(reg) cells and macrophages in adipose tissue. Nat Immunol 16(1):85-95 |
| abstractText | Invariant natural killer T cells (iNKT cells) are lipid-sensing innate T cells that are restricted by the antigen-presenting molecule CD1d and express the transcription factor PLZF. iNKT cells accumulate in adipose tissue, where they are anti-inflammatory, but the factors that contribute to their anti-inflammatory nature, as well as their targets in adipose tissue, are unknown. Here we found that iNKT cells in adipose tissue had a unique transcriptional program and produced interleukin 2 (IL-2) and IL-10. Unlike other iNKT cells, they lacked PLZF but expressed the transcription factor E4BP4, which controlled their IL-10 production. The adipose iNKT cells were a tissue-resident population that induced an anti-inflammatory phenotype in macrophages and, through the production of IL-2, controlled the number, proliferation and suppressor function of regulatory T cells (Treg cells) in adipose tissue. Thus, iNKT cells in adipose tissue are unique regulators of immunological homeostasis in this tissue. |
