The influence of Toll-like receptors on murine invariant natural killer T cell activation

• Main Author: Villanueva, Alexander Ian
• Other Authors: Sharif, Shayan
• Language: en
• Published: 2013
• Subjects: immunology; NKT cells; innate immunity; Toll-like receptors; real-time PCR; ELISA; Western blot; flow cytometry; macrophage; cell lines; hybridoma; VSV; MAPK; MAPK phosphatase; DUSP1; CpG; T cells; natural killer cells; gene expression
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10214/7252

Invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells are a versatile subclass of T lymphocytes which recognize glycolipid antigens. iNKT cells are capable of rapidly producing a broad array of cytokines in response to stimulation; thus, they play an important role in the early regulation of a variety of immune responses. It was hypothesized that iNKT cells express functional Toll-like receptors (TLRs) and that stimulation of TLRs by their ligands modulates iNKT cells responses. In the first objective, it was revealed that upon stimulation with anti-CD3 monoclonal antibody and interferon (IFN)-α, expression of TLRs was enhanced in iNKT cells. Furthermore, stimulation of iNKT cells with TLR ligands led to a significant increase in the expression of several cytokines. In the second objective, the mechanisms behind the modulatory effects of the TLR9 ligand (CpG-ODN) on iNKT cells were determined. Altogether, these findings suggest a direct role for TLRs in iNKT cell activation. === Ontario Graduate Scholarship