Regulatory effect of γδT cells on the development of autoimmune uveitis

Abstract

γδT cells account for approximately 1％-10％ of T lymphocytes in peripheral blood,but they are more abundant in mucosal tissue.γδT cells can produce a diverse range of cytokines to exert cytotoxic effector function.In addition,γδT cells can act as antigen-presenting cell(APC) to enhance the activity of effector T cells and contribute to autoimmunity.Based on the recognized ligands and their common lack of major histocompatibility (MHC) restriction,γδT cells are considered as nontraditional T cells that link innate and adaptive immunity.Previous studies showed that γδT cells have dual function.They can help to strengthen an immune process,and they might also help to suppress immune response.Up to now,many researches have focused on how γδT cells to impact and regulate the experimental autoimmune uveitis by the interaction between γδT cells with αβT cells,interleukine-17 (IL-17),regulatory T cell (Treg),dendritic cell(DC) and toll-like receptor(TLR).In uveitis,a further understanding of the plasticity of γδT cells is required to specifically identify strategies for intentional modulation of their beneficial or detrimental regulatory activity.Here,the basic biological characteristics and the current knowledge on the regulation mechanism of γδT cells in uveitis disease were reviewed. Key words: γδT cell; Regulatory effect; Uveitis; Autoimmunity