一項(xiàng)新研究顯示固定的自然殺傷T細(xì)胞在人哮喘病中起著重要的病原角色，提示治療方案應(yīng)當(dāng)針對(duì)這些細(xì)胞。

研究人員檢查了44例成年患者氣管液體，其中14例中度～重度患者經(jīng)常喘息、咳嗽、呼吸短促。其它6例患者處于健康狀態(tài)，5例患有結(jié)節(jié)病，這是一種不同類型的呼吸系統(tǒng)炎癥性疾病。研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)哮喘患者氣管液體中63%的細(xì)胞是殺傷T細(xì)胞，而對(duì)照組或者結(jié)節(jié)病患者液體中的T細(xì)胞不到1%。自然殺傷T細(xì)胞表達(dá)一種固定的T細(xì)胞受體，生成2型細(xì)胞因子。這項(xiàng)研究發(fā)表在2006年3月的《新英格蘭醫(yī)學(xué)期刊》之上。
 
Killer T Cells May Trigger Asthma
 
A new study shows that invariant natural killer T cells play a prominent pathogenic role in human asthma, suggesting that therapy should target these cells.

Researchers examined the bronchial fluid of 44 adult patients, 14 of whom had moderate- to-severe asthma with frequent wheezing, coughing, and shortness of breath. Six other patients were healthy, while five others had sarcoidosis, a different type of respiratory inflammatory disease. The researchers found that 63% of the cells found in asthma patients were killer T cells, compared to less than 1% of the cells in the fluid from either controls or patients with sarcoidosis. The natural killer T cells expressed an invariant T cell receptor and produced type 2 helper cytokines. The study was published in the March 16, 2006, issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.