Abstract
Natural killer T (NKT) cells play an important role in controlling cancers, infectious diseases and autoimmune diseases. Although the rhesus macaque is a useful primate model for many human diseases such as infectious and autoimmune diseases, little is known about their NKT cells. We analyzed Vα24TCR+ T cells from rhesus macaque peripheral blood mononuclear cells stimulated with α-galactosylceramide (α-GalCer) and interleukin-2. We found that rhesus macaques possess Vα24TCR+ T cells, suggesting that recognition of α-GalCer is highly conserved between rhesus macaques and humans. The amino acid sequences of the V-J junction for the Vα24TCR of rhesus macaque and human NKT cells are highly conserved (93% similarity), and the CD1d α1-α2 domains of both species are highly homologous (95.6%). These findings indicate that the rhesus macaque is a useful primate model for understanding the contribution of NKT cells to the control of human diseases.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 776-781 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Immunogenetics |
Volume | 54 |
Issue number | 11 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Feb 1 2003 |
Keywords
- CD1d
- Nonhuman primate
- Rhesus macaque
- Vα24NKT
- α-GalCer
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Immunology
- Genetics