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Antigen Processing pp 557–572Cite as

Analyzing Antigen Recognition by Natural Killer T Cells

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Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology™ ((MIMB,volume 960))

Abstract

Natural Killer T (NKT) cells are a subset of T lymphocytes that recognize a wide variety of lipid antigens presented by CD1 molecules. NKT cells exhibit rapid activation after recognition of cognate antigens, secrete abundant amounts of T helper (Th) 1, Th2, and Th17 cytokines within hours of activation and shape the immune response through subsequent activation of dendritic, NK, T and B cells. NKT cells therefore play central roles in antimicrobial and anticancer immunity and in modulation of various autoimmune disorders. Consequently, recent research has focused on the discovery of microbial and self-antigens involved in NKT cell activation. In this chapter, we discuss different strategies for studying antigen recognition by NKT cells including CD1d tetramer-based approaches and in vitro assays characterizing NKT cell activation in response to lipid antigen presentation. While toll-like receptor (TLR) agonists and cytokines such as IL-12 are critical for NKT cell activation in vivo, particularly in the context of microbial infection, methods for detection of TLR- and cytokine-dependent NKT cell activation will not be discussed in this section.

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Acknowledgment

The work was supported by NIH grants DK51362, DK44319, DK53056, DK88199, the Harvard Digestive Diseases Center (DK034856) (to R.S.B.); the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (Ze 814/1-1, Ze 814/4-1), and the FP7-PEOPLE program of the European Commission (Marie Curie International Reintegration Grant 256363) (to S.Z.); the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (OL 324/1-1) (to T.O.) E.M. was financed through the Norwegian PSC research center, Caroline Musæus Aarsvolds fund, and the Unger‐Vetlesen Medical Fund.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Endoscopy, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Sebastian Zeissig, Torsten Olszak, Espen Melum & Richard S. Blumberg

  2. Department of Internal Medicine I, University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein, Christian-Albrechts-University, Kiel, Germany

    Sebastian Zeissig

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  1. Sebastian Zeissig
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  2. Torsten Olszak
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  3. Espen Melum
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  4. Richard S. Blumberg
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, Unité 1013, Université Paris Descartes, Faculté de médecine, Paris, France

    Peter van Endert

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Zeissig, S., Olszak, T., Melum, E., Blumberg, R.S. (2013). Analyzing Antigen Recognition by Natural Killer T Cells. In: van Endert, P. (eds) Antigen Processing. Methods in Molecular Biology™, vol 960. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-62703-218-6_41

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-62703-218-6_41

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  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, Totowa, NJ

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-62703-217-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-62703-218-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Protocols

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