Peripheral blood mucosal-associated invariant T cells in tuberculosis patients and healthy mycobacterium tuberculosis-exposed controls
Simon Mendelsohn (cohort 2015-16), Sara Suliman, Anele Gela, Sarah K Iwany, Kattya Lopez Tamara, Simbarashe Mabwe, Nicole Bilek, Fatoumatta Darboe, Michelle Fisher, Alexandra J Corbett, Lars Kjer-Nielsen, Sidonia B G Eckle, Chuan-Chin Huang, Zibiao Zhang, David M Lewinsohn, James McCluskey, Jamie Rossjohn, Mark Hatherill, Segundo R León, Roger I Calderon, Leonid Lecca, Megan Murray, Thomas J Scriba, Ildiko Van Rhijn, D Branch Moody
In human blood, mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells are abundant T cells that recognize antigens presented on non-polymorphic major histocompatibility complex-related 1 (MR1) molecules. The MAIT cells are activated by mycobacteria, and prior human studies indicate that blood frequencies of MAIT cells, defined by cell surface markers, decline during tuberculosis (TB) disease, consistent with redistribution to the lungs.