CHINESE JOURNAL OF PARASITOLOGY AND PARASITIC DISEASES ›› 2020, Vol. 38 ›› Issue (4): 477-481.doi: 10.12140/j.issn.1000-7423.2020.04.014

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Advances in research on the roles of natural killer T cells in immune responses to parasitic infections

LIU Yi1,2(), CAI Yu-chun2, CHEN Shao-hong2, CHEN Jia-xu2,*()   

  1. 1 Shanghai University of Medicine and Health Sciences, College of Medical Technology, Shanghai 201318, China
    2 National Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Chinese Center for Diseases Control and Prevention; Chinese Center for Tropical Diseases Research; WHO Collaborating Centre for Tropical Diseases; National Center for International Research on Tropical Diseases, Ministry of Science and Technology; Key Laboratory of Parasite and Vector Biology, Ministry of Public Health, Shanghai 200025, China
  • Received:2019-10-22 Online:2020-08-30 Published:2020-09-09
  • Contact: CHEN Jia-xu E-mail:liuy_52@sumhs.edu.cn;chenjx@nipd.chinacdc.cn
  • Supported by:
    Hundred Talents Project of Shanghai University of Medicine & Health Sciences in 2019(B1-0200-19-311143)

Abstract:

Natural killer T(NKT) cells are a type of innate immune cells that express both T cell and NK cell surface markers. The cytokines secreted by NKT cells upon activation possess some properties that affect the adaptive immunity, thus bridging innate and adaptive immunity and playing important roles in anti-infection processes, tumor immunity and autoimmune diseases. NKT cells also play an important role in bridging innate and adaptive immunity during immune responses to parasitic infections. However, little research has been conducted in this field. In this article, the roles of NKT cells in immune responses to Leishmania, Plasmodium, Trypanosoma and Schistosoma infections are reviewed.

Key words: Parasite infection, Natural killer T cells, Immunity

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