Immune responses and neuroinflammation are critically involved in spinal cord injury (SCI). γδ T cells, a small subset of T cells, regulate the inflammation process in many diseases, yet their function in SCI is still poorly understood. In this paper, we demonstrate that mice deficient in γδ T cells (TCRδ^−/−) showed improved functional recovery after SCI. γδ T cells are detected at the lesion sites within 24 hours after injury and are predominantly of the Vγ4 subtype and express the inflammatory cytokine IFN-γ. Inactivating IFN-γ signaling in macrophages results in a significantly reduced production of proinflammatory cytokines in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of mice with SCIs and improves functional recovery. Furthermore, treatment of SCI with anti-Vγ4 antibodies has a beneficial effect, similar to that obtained with anti–TNF-α. In SCI patients, γδ T cells are detected in the CSF, and most of them are IFN-γ positive. In conclusion, manipulation of γδ T cell functions may be a potential approach for future SCI treatment.

免疫反应和神经炎症与脊髓损伤（SCI）密切相关。γδT细胞是T细胞的一小部分，可调节许多疾病的炎症过程，但它们在SCI中的功能仍知之甚少。在本文中，我们证明了γδT细胞（TCRδ ^-/-）在SCI后显示出改善的功能恢复。损伤后24小时内在病变部位检测到γδT细胞，主要为Vγ4亚型，并表达炎性细胞因子IFN-γ。巨噬细胞中的IFN-γ信号灭活导致SCI小鼠脑脊髓液（CSF）中促炎性细胞因子的产生显着减少，并改善了功能恢复。此外，用抗Vγ4抗体治疗SCI具有有益效果，类似于用抗TNF-α获得的效果。在SCI患者中，CSF中检测到γδT细胞，其中大多数为IFN-γ阳性。总之，对γδT细胞功能的操纵可能是未来SCI治疗的潜在方法。