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The role of natural killer (NK) cells in both immunity to infection and reproductive success is postulated to have placed competing demands on the evolution of NK cell receptors and their MHC class I ligands during the migration of humans out of Africa.
Invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells are innate-like lymphocytes that express T cell receptors that can be activated by lipid antigens presented on CD1d molecules. Here, the authors describe different models of iNKT cell activation and discuss how activated iNKT cells can contribute to both protective and pathological immune responses.
Innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) have key roles in immune responses, lymphoid tissue development and tissue regeneration. Recently, several new ILC subsets were identified. Here, the authors propose the use of a uniform nomenclature to describe all ILC subsets to avoid confusion and further promote the development of this field.
This Review discusses the key features of innate lymphoid cells (ILCs), which despite their fairly recent identification have emerged as an important cellular component of the immune system. ILCs can rapidly release effector cytokines and promote protective immunity following infection. However, aberrant activation of ILCs may contribute to immunopathology in allergic and autoimmune diseases.
