Natural killer T (NKT) cells were first recognized more than two decades ago as a separate and distinct lymphocyte lineage that modulates an expansive range of immune responses. As innate immune cells, NKT cells are activated early during inflammation and infection, and can subsequently stimulate or suppress the ensuing immune response. As a result, researchers hope to harness the immunomodulatory properties of NKT cells to treat a variety of diseases. However, many questions still remain unanswered regarding the biology of NKT cells, including how these cells traffic from the thymus to peripheral organs and how they play such contrasting roles in different immune responses and diseases. In this new era of intravital fluorescence microscopy, we are now able to employ this powerful tool to provide quantitative and dynamic insights into NKT cell biology including cellular dynamics, patrolling, and immunoregulatory functions with exquisite resolution. This review will highlight and discuss recent studies that use intravital imaging to understand the spectrum of NKT cell behavior in a variety of animal models.
Keywords: host–pathogen interactions; innate immunity; intravital imaging; natural killer T cells; sterile inflammation.