Nature：维生素（VB₂和VB₉）促进免疫力

Immunology: Vitamins prime immunity

The finding that derivatives of vitamin B can bind to an antigen-presenting protein that stimulates specialized immune cells suggests a novel mechanism by which the immune system detects microbial infections.  The functions of two lipid-soluble vitamins, vitamin D and vitamin A , in modulating immune responses are already known. But on a paper of this issue of Nature, researchers suggested a very different immune function for vitamins B2 (riboflavin) and B9 (folic acid), which are water-soluble vitamins. The authors provide evidence that molecules produced when bacteria metabolize certain B vitamins can activate a class of immune T cell called mucosa-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells. The proposal that MAIT cells detect infected cells through vitamin metabolites attached to the cells' surface is the first suggestion that vitamins can act as antigens (substances that activate T and B cells of the immune system), and boosts our understanding of this novel arm of the immune system.

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v491/n7426/full/491680a.html

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v491/n7426/full/nature11605.html