Natural killer T cells are targets for human immunodeficiency virus infection

[Extract] In this issue of Immunology, Fleuridor et al. provide evidence that NKT cells are likely to be an important target of HIV. This study, along with recent reports from three independent groups collectively demonstrate that Vα24/Vβ11 NKT cells are depleted from the peripheral blood of HIV-infected individuals when compared with healthy donors. Most of the depletion appears to occur within the first year of seroconversion, and is out of proportion with the loss of conventional CD4+ T cells over this period. While other possibilities exist as to the fate of NKT cells in HIV-infected patients, several convincing pieces of data support the idea that NKT cells are directly infected by HIV early in the course of the disease and could therefore play a role in establishing HIV infection