Ligong Liu

TL;DR: It is shown that metabolites of vitamin B represent a class of antigen that are presented by MR1 for MAIT-cell immunosurveillance, and data suggest that MAIT cells use these metabolites to detect microbial infection.

TL;DR: It is shown that MAIT-cell activation requires key genes encoding enzymes that form 5-amino-6-d-ribitylaminouracil (5-A-RU), an early intermediate in bacterial riboflavin synthesis, and MR1 is able to capture, stabilize and present chemically unstable pyrimidine intermediates, which otherwise convert to lumazines, as potent antigens to MAIT cells.

TL;DR: Generation of antigen-loaded MR1 tetramers that specifically stain MAIT cells identifies heterogeneity in phenotypes and TCR repertoires in humans and mice.

TL;DR: This work uses MR1 tetramers to characterize the heterogeneous population of mouse MAIT cells and finds a close resemblance to their human counterparts, which will provide the foundation for further investigation ofMAIT cells in health and disease.

TL;DR: Stage 3 MAIT cell populations were expanded in mice deficient in the antigen-presenting molecule CD1d, suggestive of a niche shared by MAIT cells and natural killer T cells (NKT cells).