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Regulatory iNKT cells lack expression of the transcription factor PLZF and control the homeostasis of T(reg) cells and macrophages in adipose tissue

Citation:

Lynch L, Michelet X, Zhang S, Brennan PJ, Moseman A, Lester C, Besra G, Vomhof-Dekrey EE, Tighe M, Koay H-F, et al. 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. 2015;16 (1) :85-95.
nihms640826.pdf1.07 MB

Date Published:

2015 Jan

Abstract:

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.

Last updated on 03/29/2023