Gene expression in NKT cells: defining a functionally distinct CD1d-restricted T cell subset

Since their discovery as cells bearing both TCRs and NK cell receptors, NKT cells have been intensively studied as a possible bridge between innate and adaptive immunity. Although their involvement in a wide variety of immune responses and in disease states have been well documented, molecular details of this functionality have been lacking. Recently, transcriptional profiling using microarrays has been applied to these cells, pinpointing gene-expression differences between this regulatory T cell subset and conventional T cells, and providing a framework for subset-specific therapeutic intervention in clinical settings.