Interleukin‐17 producing mucosal associated invariant T cells ‐ emerging players in chronic inflammatory diseases?

• Published in: European journal of immunology 2020-08, Vol.50 (8), p.1098-1108
• Main Authors: Pisarska, Marta M., Dunne, Margaret R., O'Shea, Donal, Hogan, Andrew E.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adipose tissue; Autoimmune Diseases - etiology; Bacterial Infections - immunology; Chronic Disease; chronic inflammation; Humans; IL‐17; Immunosurveillance; Inflammation - etiology; Inflammatory diseases; Interleukin-17 - biosynthesis; Lymphocytes; Lymphocytes T; Major histocompatibility complex; Metabolic Diseases - etiology; Metabolic disorders; Metabolites; Mucosa; Mucosal-Associated Invariant T Cells - immunology; Mucosal-Associated Invariant T Cells - physiology; mucosal‐associated invariant T cells; Neoplasms - etiology; Phenotype; T cell receptors
• ISSN: 0014-2980; 1521-4141
• DOI: 10.1002/eji.202048645

Mucosal associated invariant T (MAIT) cells are a population of evolutionarily conserved T cells, which express an invariant T cell receptor (TCR) and represent a significant subset of innate‐like T cells in humans, yet their role in immunity is still emerging. Unlike conventional αβ T cells, MAIT cells are not restricted by MHC molecules, but instead uniquely recognize microbially derived vitamin metabolites presented by the MHC‐I like molecule MR1. MAIT cells are enriched in mucosal sites and tissues including liver and adipose tissue where they are thought to play an important role in immunosurveillance and immunity against microbial infection. In addition to their putative role in antimicrobial immunity, recent research on MAIT cells, in particular IL‐17 producing MAIT cells, has demonstrated their involvement in numerous chronic inflammatory conditions. In this review, we give an overview of the work to date on the function and subsets of MAIT cells. We also examine the role of IL‐17 producing MAIT cells in chronic inflammatory diseases ranging from autoimmune conditions, metabolic diseases to cancer. Furthermore, we discuss the most recent findings from the clinic that might help deepen our understanding about the biology of MAIT cells. MAIT17 cells are a subset of MAIT cells capable of robustly producing IL‐17, and have been implicated in a range of chronic inflammatory conditions, ranging from metabolic to connective tissue diseases. In this review, we summarize and discuss the role of MAIT17 cells in inflammatory disease.