Activation of invariant natural killer T cells in regional lymph nodes as new antigen-specific immunotherapy via induction of interleukin-21 and interferon-gamma

作者：Sakurai T; Inamine A; Iinuma T; Funakoshi U; Yonekura S; Sakurai D; Hanazawa T; Nakayama T; Ishii Y; Okamoto Y^*

来源：Clinical and Experimental Immunology, 2014, 178(1): 65-74.

DOI：10.1111/cei.12399

• alpha-galactosylceramide
• bone marrow-derived dendritic cells
• invariant natural killer T cell
• IFN-gamma
• IL-21

Invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells play important immunoregulatory functions in allergen-induced airway hyperresponsiveness and inflammation. To clarify the role of iNKT cells in allergic rhinitis (AR), we generated bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (BMDCs), which were pulsed by ovalbumin (OVA) and alpha-galactosylceramide (OVA/alpha-GalCer-BMDCs) and administered into the oral submucosa of OVA-sensitized mice before nasal challenge. Nasal symptoms, level of OVA-specific immunoglobulin (IgE), and T helper type 2 (Th2) cytokine production in cervical lymph nodes (CLNs) were significantly ameliorated in wild-type (WT) mice treated with OVA/alpha-GalCer-BMDCs, but not in WT mice treated with OVA-BMDCs. These antiallergic effects were not observed in J alpha 18(-/-) recipients that lack iNKT cells, even after similar treatment with OVA/alpha-GalCer-BMDCs in an adoptive transfer study with CD4(+) T cells and B cells from OVA-sensitized WT mice. In WT recipients of OVA/alpha-GalCer-BMDCs, the number of interleukin (IL)-21-producing iNKT cells increased significantly and the Th1/Th2 balance shifted towards the Th1 dominant state. Treatment with anti-IL-21 and anti-interferon (IFN)-gamma antibodies abrogated these anti-allergic effects in mice treated with alpha-GalCer/OVA-BMDCs. These results suggest that activation of iNKT cells in regional lymph nodes induces anti-allergic effects through production of IL-21 or IFN-gamma, and that these effects are enhanced by simultaneous stimulation with antigen. Thus, iNKT cells might be a useful target in development of new treatment strategies for AR.

• 出版日期2014-10
• 单位RIKEN