Document Detail


Synthetic glycolipid ligands for human iNKT cells as potential therapeutic agents for immunotherapy.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  18855664     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
Invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells are an attractive therapeutic target in autoimmune diseases, since they play a major role in immune regulation. iNKT cells recognize glycolipid antigens presented by CD1d molecules that resemble the non-polymorphic MHC class I protein. alpha-galactosylceramide (alpha-GalCer) isolated from marine sponge has long been used as a prototype iNKT cell ligand in the laboratory. As alpha-GalCer is the most efficacious ligand for iNKT cells, its potential to treat autoimmune disease has been evaluated in animal models. Previous studies showed that alpha-GalCer effectively suppressed disease in some autoimmunity models, but not in others. This inconsistency may be attributed to the ability of alpha-GalCer to induce the production of both proinflammatory Th1 and anti-inflammatory Th2 cytokines by iNKT cells. To overcome this issue, we and other groups have synthesized new, unnatural glycolipids by modifying the structure of alpha-GalCer. These efforts have led to an identification of glycolipid compounds that provoke the production of Th2 (but not Th1) cytokines by iNKT cells. Among these novel ligands, an alpha-GalCer analogue named OCH, which contains a truncated sphingosine chain, induces a Th2 biased response by murine iNKT cells. Here we describe that OCH also polarizes human iNKT cells towards Th2, which opens up a new avenue for the clinical application of glycolipid compounds in treating of autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis. The pursuit of synthetic glycolipid antigens has the great potential to lead to a better understanding of the regulatory effects of human iNKT cells and development of a new therapeutic agent for autoimmune diseases.
Authors:
Manabu Araki; Sachiko Miyake; Takashi Yamamura
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Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article; Review    
Journal Detail:
Title:  Current medicinal chemistry     Volume:  15     ISSN:  0929-8673     ISO Abbreviation:  Curr. Med. Chem.     Publication Date:  2008  
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2008-10-15     Completed Date:  2008-10-31     Revised Date:  -    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  9440157     Medline TA:  Curr Med Chem     Country:  Netherlands    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  2337-45     Citation Subset:  IM    
Affiliation:
Department of Immunology, National Institute of Neuroscience, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Kodaira, Tokyo 187-8502, Japan.
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Animals
Cytokines / immunology
Disease
Glycolipids / chemical synthesis*,  chemistry,  immunology*
Humans
Immunotherapy*
Ligands
T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic / immunology*
Chemical
Reg. No./Substance:
0/Cytokines; 0/Glycolipids; 0/Ligands

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