02315nas a2200529   4500000000100000008004100001260001300042653001500055653001000070653000900080653001200089653001800101653001900119653001100138653001900149653002400168653001100192653002200203653002600225653001200251653000900263653002300272653001600295653002500311653003100336653003000367653002500397653001700422100001000439700001100449700001000460700001000470700001000480700002000490700001400510700001100524700001800535700001200553700001300565700001100578700001600589245011200605300001100717490000800728520103500736022001401771       2008                            d  c2008 May10aAdolescent10aAdult10aAged10aAnimals10aAntigens, CD110aAntigens, CD1d10aFemale10aFlow Cytometry10aGalactosylceramides10aHumans10aImmunophenotyping10aKiller Cells, Natural10aleprosy10aMice10aMice, Inbred C57BL10aMiddle Aged10aMycobacterium leprae10aMycobacterium tuberculosis10aStatistics, Nonparametric10aT-Lymphocyte Subsets10aTuberculosis1 aIm JS1 aKang T1 aLee S1 aKim C1 aLee S1 aVenkataswamy MM1 aSerfass E1 aChen B1 aIllarionov PA1 aBesra G1 aJacobs W1 aChae G1 aPorcelli SA00aAlteration of the relative levels of iNKT cell subsets is associated with chronic mycobacterial infections.  a214-240 v1273 a<p>CD1d-restricted invariant natural killer T cells (iNKT cells) have been identified as an important type of effector and regulatory T cell, but their roles in the chronic infectious diseases caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium leprae remain poorly defined. Here, we studied circulating human iNKT cells in blood samples from tuberculosis (TB) and leprosy patients. We found that the percentages of iNKT cells among total circulating T cells in TB and leprosy patients were not significantly different from those in normal controls. However, both TB and leprosy patients showed a selective reduction of the proinflammatory CD4(-)CD8beta(-) (DN) iNKT cells with a proportionate increase in the CD4(+) iNKT cells. Similar phenotypic alterations in circulating iNKT cells were observed in a mouse model of M. tuberculosis infection. Taken together, these findings indicate that the selective reduction of circulating DN iNKT cells is associated with chronic infections caused by M. tuberculosis and M. leprae.</p>  a1521-7035