2019 Volume 8 Issue 1 Pages 28-35
Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is one of the major complications and the leading cause of morbidity, mortality, and impaired quality of life after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo HSCT). Sequential phases of natural immunity and acquired immunity appear to form the pathological basis of GVHD. Studies have also demonstrated the important role of immune-modulatory cells in tolerance induction after allo HSCT. In this review, we focus on invariant natural killer T cells (iNKT cells), which are a unique subset of immune-modulatory cells that link natural immunity and acquired immunity, in the context of allo HSCT.
