Roles and mechanisms of γδT cells in bacterial infectious diseases / 中华微生物学和免疫学杂志

ABSTRACT

T cells are divided into two subsets,αβΤandγδT cells, according to the T-cell recep-tor ( TCR) expressed. γδT cells are a small minority of T cells and in contrast to αβΤ cells, they do not seem to require antigen processing and major-histocompatibility-complex ( MHC ) presentation of peptide epitopes. This group of T cells is usually much less common than αβT cells, but plays an important role in anti-infection, anti-tumor and immunoregulation. This review summarizes the production, development, dis-tribution, genetic characteristics, antigen recognition characteristics, biological and immunological functions of γδT cells as well as their unique roles and mechanisms in bacterial infectious diseases.