International Immunology Advance Access originally published online on October 16, 2008
International Immunology 2008 20(12):1517-1525; doi:10.1093/intimm/dxn111
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Invariant V
7.2-J
33 TCR is expressed in human kidney and brain tumors indicating infiltration by mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells
1 Department of Neurology
2 Department of Pathology
3 Department of Laboratory Medicine
4 Department of Neurosurgery
5 Department of Urology
6 Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of Pecs, 7623 Pecs, Hungary
Correspondence to: Z. Illes; E-mail: zsolt.illes{at}aok.pte.hu
The anti-tumor response of human invariant NKT (NKT) cells is well established. A novel T cell subset, mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells, possesses similar regulatory properties to NKT cells in autoimmune models and disease. Here, we examined the clonality of four T cell subsets expressing invariant
TCR, including V
7.2-J
33 of MAIT cells, in 19 kidney and brain tumors. The MAIT clonotype was identified and co-expressed with NKT clonotype in half of the tumors. In contrast, two other invariant T cell clonotypes (V
4 and V
19) were not present in tumors. Such tumors also expressed Vβ2 and Vβ13, the restricted TCRβ chain of MAIT cells and the antigen-presenting molecule MR1. A high percentage of infiltrating T cells was CD8+ and expressed HLA-DR suggesting activation. Although the MAIT
TCR was identified in both peripheral CD56+ and CD56– subsets, infiltrating lymphocytes were CD56 negative. The clonal presence of MAIT cells in tumors correlated with the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines but no IL-4, IL-5 and IL-10, suggesting that a pro-inflammatory subset of human MAIT cells may exist. Our data imply that a CD56– subset of MAIT cells may participate in tumor immune responses similarly to NKT cells.
Keywords: innate, invariant TCR, MAIT, NKT, tumor
Transmitting editor: A. Falus
Received 2 June 2008, accepted 12 September 2008.