The Role of Mucosal-Associated Invariant T Cells in Infectious Diseases
GUO Wenjing, ZHENG Yizhou, FENG Sizhou*
Mucosal-associated invariant T cells are innate-like lymphocytes and abundant in humans, expressing a semi-invariant T cell receptor repertoire. MAIT cells can be activated either by intermediates in the synthesis pathway of riboflavin by microorganisms, such as 5-OE-RU and 5-OP-RU, or by cytokines or superantigens. Once activated, MAIT cells can execute effector functions by producing type 1 and type 17 cytokines and cytotoxic molecules. MAIT cells affect many diseases and the absence of MAIT cells may lead to impaired immune function. Herein, this review describes the basic characteristics of MAIT cells, their activation pathways and their role in infectious diseases, to provide predictive indicators and therapeutic targets for severe infectious diseases.
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