Supporting Evidence for Natural Killer T Cell Accumulation in Progressive Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease?

Abstract

ducers of IL13, it would be of interest to ascertain if IL12 knockout mice express different amounts of IL13.Reductions in both NKT and NK cells occurred in choline-deficientdiet mice and individuals with hepatic steatosis. However, when cholinedeficient-diet mice were inoculated with clodronate-containing liposomes, they exhibited four-fold reductions in NK cells (and lower IL12) while maintaining NKT numbers. In contrast, control-treated mice preserved their NK population (and increased IL12) while reducing NKT numbers (a reversal of NK: NKT ratios) 1 . NK cells secrete IFN-␥ and have been shown to inhibit fibrosis. 8 Future work is needed to delineate the relationship between NKT and NK populations in progressive liver disease and determine if different NKT subsets affect disease outcomes.