一項新研究顯示固定的自然殺傷T細胞在人哮喘病中起著重要的病原角色，提示治療方案應當針對這些細胞。

研究人員檢查了44例成年患者氣管液體，其中14例中度～重度患者經常喘息、咳嗽、呼吸短促。其它6例患者處于健康狀態，5例患有結節病，這是一種不同類型的呼吸系統炎癥性疾病。研究人員發現哮喘患者氣管液體中63%的細胞是殺傷T細胞，而對照組或者結節病患者液體中的T細胞不到1%。自然殺傷T細胞表達一種固定的T細胞受體，生成2型細胞因子。這項研究發表在2006年3月的《新英格蘭醫學期刊》之上。
 
Killer T Cells May Trigger Asthma
 
A new study shows that invariant natural killer T cells play a prominent pathogenic role in human asthma, suggesting that therapy should target these cells.

Researchers examined the bronchial fluid of 44 adult patients, 14 of whom had moderate- to-severe asthma with frequent wheezing, coughing, and shortness of breath. Six other patients were healthy, while five others had sarcoidosis, a different type of respiratory inflammatory disease. The researchers found that 63% of the cells found in asthma patients were killer T cells, compared to less than 1% of the cells in the fluid from either controls or patients with sarcoidosis. The natural killer T cells expressed an invariant T cell receptor and produced type 2 helper cytokines. The study was published in the March 16, 2006, issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.