Frontiers in Bioscience-Landmark (FBL) is published by IMR Press from Volume 26 Issue 5 (2021). Previous articles were published by another publisher on a subscription basis, and they are hosted by IMR Press on imrpress.com as a courtesy and upon agreement with Frontiers in Bioscience.
The antigenic repertoire of T cells has long been considered as exclusively composed of proteins and peptides. This view has been recently challenged by the discovery of CD1 molecules, a set of weakly polymorphic MHC class I-related receptors able to present lipid antigens to T cells. An updated picture of the biology of human CD1-restricted T cells is provided here, which highlights the unique features of these lymphoid effectors and the way they synergize with other innate and adaptive immune players to ensure protective immunity against tumors and pathogens.