查看文章

Mucosa‐associated invariant T (MAIT) cells express the semi‐invariant T‐cell receptor TRAV1–2 and detect a range of bacteria and fungi through the MHC‐like molecule MR1. However, knowledge of the function and phenotype of bacteria‐reactive MR1‐restricted TRAV1–2⁺ MAIT cells from human blood is limited. We broadly characterized the function of MR1‐restricted MAIT cells in response to bacteria‐infected targets and defined a phenotypic panel to identify these cells in the circulation. We demonstrated that bacteria‐reactive MR1‐restricted T cells shared effector functions of cytolytic effector CD8⁺ T cells. By analysing an extensive panel of phenotypic markers, we determined that CD26 and CD161 were most strongly associated with these T cells. Using FACS to sort phenotypically defined CD8⁺ subsets we demonstrated that high expression of CD26 on CD8⁺ TRAV1–2⁺ cells identified with high specificity …