Unconventional T cells in brain homeostasis, injury and neurodegeneration

Mengfei Lv; Zhaolong Zhang; Yu Cui

doi:10.3389/fimmu.2023.1273459

Unconventional T cells in brain homeostasis, injury and neurodegeneration

Front Immunol. 2023 Oct 3:14:1273459. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1273459. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Mengfei Lv^{1

2}, Zhaolong Zhang³, Yu Cui^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Neuroregeneration and Neurorehabilitation, Qingdao University, Qingdao, Shandong, China.
² Qingdao Medical College, Qingdao University, Qingdao, China.
³ Department of Interventional Radiology, The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao, Shandong, China.

Abstract

The interaction between peripheral immune cells and the brain is an important component of the neuroimmune axis. Unconventional T cells, which include natural killer T (NKT) cells, mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells, γδ T cells, and other poorly defined subsets, are a special group of T lymphocytes that recognize a wide range of nonpolymorphic ligands and are the connection between adaptive and innate immunity. Recently, an increasing number of complex functions of these unconventional T cells in brain homeostasis and various brain disorders have been revealed. In this review, we describe the classification and effector function of unconventional T cells, review the evidence for the involvement of unconventional T cells in the regulation of brain homeostasis, summarize the roles and mechanisms of unconventional T cells in the regulation of brain injury and neurodegeneration, and discuss immunotherapeutic potential as well as future research goals. Insight of these processes can shed light on the regulation of T cell immunity on brain homeostasis and diseases and provide new clues for therapeutic approaches targeting brain injury and neurodegeneration.

Keywords: MAIT cell; NKT cell; brain injury; ischemic stroke; meninges; multiple sclerosis; neurodegeneration; γδ T cell.

Publication types

Review
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Brain
Brain Injuries*
Homeostasis
Humans
Immunity, Innate
Mucosal-Associated Invariant T Cells*

Grants and funding

The authors declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This work is supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (82101380) and Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province (ZR202102280316) to Zhaolong Zhang; Science and Technology Support Plan for Youth Innovation of Colleges and Universities of Shandong Province of China (2022KJ146) to YC.