TY - JOUR
T1 - Human γδ T-cell responses in infection and immunotherapy
T2 - Common mechanisms, common mediators?
AU - Riganti, Chiara
AU - Massaia, Massimo
AU - Davey, Martin S.
AU - Eberl, Matthias
PY - 2012/7/1
Y1 - 2012/7/1
N2 - Upon receiving the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1987, Susumu Tonegawa referred to the then recent discovery of the γδ T-cell receptor and stated that "while the function of the T cells bearing this receptor is currently unknown (...) these T cells may be involved in an entirely new aspect of immunity". [Tonegawa, S., Scand. J. Immunol. 1993. 38: 303-319]. Twenty-five years of intense research later this ambivalent view still holds true. Immunologists now appreciate that γδ T cells indeed represent a highly intriguing "new aspect of immunity" that is unique and distinct from conventional lymphocytes, yet even scientists in the field still struggle to understand the molecular basis of γδ T-cell responses, especially with respect to the enigmatic mode of antigen recognition. Here, we portray the peculiar responsiveness of human Vγ9/Vδ2 T cells to microorganisms, tumor cells and aminobisphosphonates, in an attempt to integrate the corresponding - and at times confusing - findings into a "theory of everything" that may help explain how such diverse stimuli result in similar γδ T-cell responses via the recognition of soluble low molecular weight phosphoantigens.
AB - Upon receiving the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1987, Susumu Tonegawa referred to the then recent discovery of the γδ T-cell receptor and stated that "while the function of the T cells bearing this receptor is currently unknown (...) these T cells may be involved in an entirely new aspect of immunity". [Tonegawa, S., Scand. J. Immunol. 1993. 38: 303-319]. Twenty-five years of intense research later this ambivalent view still holds true. Immunologists now appreciate that γδ T cells indeed represent a highly intriguing "new aspect of immunity" that is unique and distinct from conventional lymphocytes, yet even scientists in the field still struggle to understand the molecular basis of γδ T-cell responses, especially with respect to the enigmatic mode of antigen recognition. Here, we portray the peculiar responsiveness of human Vγ9/Vδ2 T cells to microorganisms, tumor cells and aminobisphosphonates, in an attempt to integrate the corresponding - and at times confusing - findings into a "theory of everything" that may help explain how such diverse stimuli result in similar γδ T-cell responses via the recognition of soluble low molecular weight phosphoantigens.
KW - γδ T cells
KW - Antigen presentation
KW - Cancer immunotherapy
KW - Microbial infections
KW - T-cell receptor
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84863993381&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1002/eji.201242492
DO - 10.1002/eji.201242492
M3 - Review Article
C2 - 22806069
AN - SCOPUS:84863993381
SN - 0014-2980
VL - 42
SP - 1668
EP - 1676
JO - European Journal of Immunology
JF - European Journal of Immunology
IS - 7
ER -