新英格兰医学期刊：NKT细胞能够触发哮喘发作

 
一项新研究显示固定的自然杀伤T细胞在人哮喘病中起着重要的病原角色，提示治疗方案应当针对这些细胞。

研究人员检查了44例成年患者气管液体，其中14例中度～重度患者经常喘息、咳嗽、呼吸短促。其它6例患者处于健康状态，5例患有结节病，这是一种不同类型的呼吸系统炎症性疾病。研究人员发现哮喘患者气管液体中63%的细胞是杀伤T细胞，而对照组或者结节病患者液体中的T细胞不到1%。自然杀伤T细胞表达一种固定的T细胞受体，生成2型细胞因子。这项研究发表在2006年3月的《新英格兰医学期刊》之上。
 
Killer T Cells May Trigger Asthma
 
A new study shows that invariant natural killer T cells play a prominent pathogenic role in human asthma, suggesting that therapy should target these cells.

Researchers examined the bronchial fluid of 44 adult patients, 14 of whom had moderate- to-severe asthma with frequent wheezing, coughing, and shortness of breath. Six other patients were healthy, while five others had sarcoidosis, a different type of respiratory inflammatory disease. The researchers found that 63% of the cells found in asthma patients were killer T cells, compared to less than 1% of the cells in the fluid from either controls or patients with sarcoidosis. The natural killer T cells expressed an invariant T cell receptor and produced type 2 helper cytokines. The study was published in the March 16, 2006, issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.