Abstract
The recently described Mucosal Associated Invariant T (MAIT) cells mediate specific recognition of bacterial and fungal vitamin B2 metabolites. As innate T cells, they possess broad effector responses, including IFN- including Iproduction, that are comparable to conventional T cell responses. Immunodeficiencies associated with systemic Th17 deficiency may also be compounded by defects in MAIT immunity. We evaluated Th17 immunity in this innate T cell compartment in primary (AD-HIES) and secondary immunodeficiency (thymoma) patients with conventional Th17 deficiency and susceptibility to fungal and bacterial disease. Our results suggest that MAIT cells are both reduced and functional deficient in STAT3 deficiency and thymoma patients with IL-12/23 autoantibodies. In contrast, thymoma patients without autoantibodies preserved the normal number and functional MAIT cells.
Highlights
The factors that contribute to an increased susceptibility to fungal infection have been illuminated through the study of patients with primary and secondary immunodeficiencies [1, 2]
We identified Mucosal Associated Invariant T (MAIT) cells through a sequential gating strategy that selected CD3+ T cells, conventional αβ T cells and Vα7.2/CD161++ cells
Healthy volunteers showed a distinctive cluster of Vα7.2/CD161++ MAIT cells (Fig 1A)
Summary
The factors that contribute to an increased susceptibility to fungal infection have been illuminated through the study of patients with primary and secondary immunodeficiencies [1, 2]. We evaluated the presence and function of these cells in two groups of well-characterized primary (HIES) and secondary immunodeficiency (thymoma) patients with conventional Th17 deficiency and susceptibility to fungal and bacterial disease. Representative enumeration of MAIT cells from the clinical groups showed a notable reduction of MAIT cells in HIES and thymoma +ve patients (Fig 1B).
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