Specialized subsets of innate-like T cells and dendritic cells protect from lethal pneumococcal infection in the lung

2021

SummaryInnate-like T cells, including invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells, mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells and γδ T cells, are present in various barrier tissues, including the lung. They carry out protective responses during infections, but the mechanisms for protection are not completely understood. Here, we investigated their roles during pulmonary infection with Streptococcus pneumoniae. Following infection, innate-like T cells rapidly increased in lung tissue, in part through recruitment, but TCR activation and cytokine production occurred mostly in IL-17-producing NKT17 and γδ T cells. NKT17 cells were preferentially located outside the vasculature prior to infection, …