Title of article: Mucosal-associated invariant T cells in lung diseases

Abstract

The lungs are directly connected to the external environment, which makes them more vulnerable to infection and injury. They are protected by the respiratory epithelium and immune cells to maintain a dynamic balance. Both innate and adaptive immune cells are involved in the pathogenesis of lung diseases. Mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells are a subset of unconventional T cells, which have attracted increasing attention in recent years. Although MAIT cells account for a small part of the total immune cells in the lungs, evidence suggests that these cells are activated by T cell receptors and/or cytokine receptors and mediate immune response. They play an important role in immunosurveillance and immunity against microbial infection, and recent studies have shown that subsets of MAIT cells play a role in promoting pulmonary inflammation. Emerging data indicate that MAIT cells are involved in the immune response against SARS-CoV-2 and possible immunopathogenesis in COVID-19. Here, we introduce MAIT cell biology to clarify their role in the immune response. Then we review MAIT cells in human and murine lung diseases, including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pneumonia, pulmonary tuberculosis and lung cancer, and discuss their possible protective and pathological effects. MAIT cells represent an attractive marker and potential therapeutic target for disease progression, thus providing new strategies for the treatment of lung diseases.

A census of the lung: CellCards from LungMAP

“…Key references: Paul et al, 2019;Snyder and Farber, 2019;Imanishi and Saito, 2020;Khan, 2020;Zemmour et al, 2020;Bugya et al, 2021;Wen et al, 2021;Williams et al, 2021.…”

Efficacy and Influencing Factors of Sangju Cough Mixture in the Adjuvant Treatment of Adult Patients with Mycoplasma pneumoniae Infection: A Retrospective Study

“… 35 Another study has reported that patients with asthma have decreased mucosal-associated variant T-cell counts, possibly leading to increased body inflammation in response to allergens and other stimuli. 36 In the present study, we observed that the Sangju cough mixture can accelerate the negative conversion time of the MP-IgM antibody, possibly because it exhibits an improved effect on the symptoms and immune functions of the infected patients.…”

Mucosal-Associated Invariant T Cells in the Digestive System: Defender or Destroyer?

“…Recent work in respiratory diseases, rheumatic diseases, and endocrine diseases similarly revealed versatile effects of MAIT cells, raising questions on their respective effects and suggesting that the role of MAIT cells may largely vary depending on disease and context in the tissue. 15 , 116 , 117 , 118 Overall, the functions of MAIT cells in various diseases remain largely elusive and more work is needed to define the molecular mechanisms that underlie their variable functions.…”