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. 2003 Jun;109(2):171–184. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2567.2003.01657.x

Figure 2.

Figure 2

The immunological functions of iNKT cells. iNKT cells participate in cross talk between members of the innate and the adaptive immune system by deploying cytokine/chemokine messengers. Upon activation in vivo, iNKT cells rapidly secrete several cytokines/chemokines. Of these cytokines/chemokines, IL-4, CSF-2, MIP1α and MIP1β facilitate the recruitment, activation and differentiation of macrophages and dendritic cells resulting in the production of IL-12 and possibly other factors. IL-12, in turn, stimulates NK cells to secrete IFN-γ. Along with IL-12, IFN-γ can polarise the differentiation of antigen-activated CD4+ T cells towards a Th1 phenotype. IL-4 can skew the differentiation of CD4+ T cells towards a Th2 phenotype. IL-4 can also activate B cells in vivo resulting in their differentiation to antibody secreting-plasma cells. Thus iNKT cells have the potential for jump-starting an immune response.