Role of Natural Killer T Cells in the Development of Obesity and Insulin Resistance: Insights From Recent Progress

Natural killer T (NKTs) cells play important roles in adipose tissue inflammation, and thus influence the development of diet-induced obesity and insulin resistance. The interactions between cluster of differentiation (CD)1d and NKT T cell receptor are thought to be critical in this process, as demonstrated in two NKT cell-deficient mouse models—systemic CD1d gene knockout (KO) and prototypic Jα18 KO mice. The latter lacks some repertoires...