Review
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2016.
World J Stem Cells. Apr 26, 2016; 8(4): 158-169
Published online Apr 26, 2016. doi: 10.4252/wjsc.v8.i4.158
Table 1 Clinical relevance of mucosal-associated invariant T cells
Disease categoriesDiseases or statusFeatures relevant to the diseasesRef.
Infectious diseasesPneumopathyDecrease in frequency and absolute number of MAIT cells in peripheral blood[16]
Tuberculosis (Mycobacterium tuberculosis)Decrease in frequency and absolute number of MAIT cells in peripheral blood Enriched in the lung[16,37,92]
HIV/AIDS (opportunistic infection)Decrease in frequency of MAIT cells in peripheral blood, guts, and lymph nodes Failure of recovery of blood MAIT cells with successful cART Long-term cART restore colonic but not blood MAIT cell levels MAIT cells are depleted but retain functionality[38-43,93,94]
Sepsis (severe bacterial infection)Decrease in frequency and absolute number of MAIT cells in peripheral blood of patients[95]
P. aeruginosa infection with cystic fibrosisDecrease in frequency of MAIT cells in peripheral blood of cystic fibrosis patients with P. aeruginosa infection[96]
Cholera (Vibrio cholera O1)Activation of MAIT cells in the acute phase No change of blood MAIT cell frequency in adult patients, but persistently decreased in child patients[97]
Autoimmune diseasesMultiple sclerosisAccumulation of MAIT cells in the central nervous system lesions Decrease in frequency of MAIT cells in peripheral blood[44-46,48]
Increased CD161high CD8+ T cells in peripheral blood[98]
Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathyAccumulation of MAIT cells in the peripheral nerves[44]
Psoriatic and rheumatoid arthritis Rheumatoid arthritisEnrichment of CD161high CD8+ T cells in the joints and secretion of IL-17 from those cells[99]
Inflammatory bowel diseaseDecrease in frequency and absolute number of MAIT cells (in particularly, in CD8+ and DN subsets) in peripheral blood[53]
Increased MAIT cell levels in the synovial fluid Decrease in CD8+ MAIT cells in peripheral blood of CD and UC patients Accumulation of MAIT cells in the inflamed ileon of patients with CD Reduced IFN-γ production in CD patients and increased IL-17 production in CD and UC patients[49]
Fewer MAIT cells in in the inflamed ileon of patients with CD and UC Increased apoptosis in MAIT cells[100]
PsoriasisMAIT cells reside in not only the dermis of patients but also that of health donors. MAIT cells may contribute IL-17 production in the dermis of patients[51]
Celiac diseaseDecrease in frequency of MAIT cells in peripheral blood and guts of adult and pediatric patients[52]
Systemic lupus erythematosusDecrease in frequency and absolute number of MAIT cells (in particularly, in CD8+ and DN subsets) in peripheral blood Reduced IFN-γ production Elevated expression of PD-1 in MAIT cells[53]
Inflammatory diseasesAsthmaDecrease in frequency of MAIT cells in blood, sputum, and endobronchial biopsy[101]
Diabetes type 2/obesityDecrease in frequency of MAIT cells in peripheral blood Circulating MAIT cells display an activate phenotype MAIT cells are more abundant in adipose tissue[55,56]
Acute cholecystitisDecrease in frequency and absolute number of MAIT cells in peripheral blood[102]
Fibromyalgia syndrome vs Spondyloarthritis vs Rheumatoid arthritisDefined analysis of MAIT cell phenotype among three diseases that exhibit a similar clinical manifestation Decrease in frequency of MAIT cells in three diseases Three diseases are able to distinguish by surface marker expression[57]
Tissue transplantCutaneous acute graft-vs-host diseaseInfiltration of CD8+ T cells, CD161+, CCR6+, RORγt+ in the epidermis and dermis of patients with GVHD[103]
Hemodialyzed and kidney transplantDecrease in frequency of MAIT cells in peripheral blood Implication for the susceptibility to infections in the patients[104]
TumorsKidney and brain tumorsPresence of MAIT cells in tumors[58]
Physiological changeFetusRare and immature in the thymus, spleen, mesenteric lymph nodes Mature and enriched in the guts, liver, and lung[29]
Neonate/infantNaïve phenotype at birth. Acquisition of effector/memory phenotype and increase in frequency and number with age[11,30]
AdultMaximum levels in the third and fourth decenniums Higher amounts in females with reproductive age than in males[30]
AgingDecrease in CD8+ MAIT cells and increase in CD4+ MAIT cells with age Th2 shift in cytokine profile in elderly[22,30]