Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

The Niemann-Pick Type C2 Protein Loads Isoglobotrihexosylceramide Onto Cd1d Molecules And Contributes To The Thymic Selection Of Nkt Cells, Paul B. Savage, Nicolas Schrantz, Yuval Sagiv, Yang Liu, Albert Bendelac, Luc Teyton

Faculty Publications

The Niemann-Pick type C2 (NPC2) protein is a small, soluble, lysosomal protein important for cholesterol and sphingolipid transport in the lysosome. The immunological phenotype of NPC2-deficient mice was limited to an impaired thymic selection of Valpha 14 natural killer T cells (NKT cells) and a subsequent reduction of NKT cells in the periphery. The remaining NKT cells failed to produce measurable quantities of interferon-gamma in vivo and in vitro after activation with alpha-galactosylceramide. In addition, thymocytes and splenocytes from NPC2-deficient mice were poor presenters of endogenous and exogenous lipids to CD1d-restricted Valpha 14 hybridoma cells. Importantly, we determined that similar …