CD1-restricted T lymphocytes recognize lipid antigens presented by the nonpolymorphic, MHC class I–related family of CD1 molecules (Porcelli and Modlin, 1999). CD1-restricted T cells can respond to lipid antigens derived from microbial cells and may exert protective roles during host infection (Moody et al., Montamat-Sicotte et al., 2011). A striking char-acteristic of many CD1-restricted T cells is auto-reactivity against different types of APCs even in the absence of microbial antigens, implying that they can also recognize endogenous self-lipid molecules (Dellabona et al., 1993; Mattner et al., 2005; Vincent et al., 2005). Autoreactive T cells recognize different types of self-lipids present in cell membranes and synthesized within different cellular compartments (Shamshiev et al., 1999, 2000; Gumperz et al., 2000; Wu et al., 2003; De Libero et al., 2005). CD1a-and CD1c-autoreactive T cells are relatively abun-dant among circulating T cells in healthy indi-viduals (de Jong et al., 2010; de Lalla et al., 2011) and might become activated by host antigens in autoimmune diseases and cancer. Lipid-specific T cells can control cancer cell growth in mouse models (Berzofsky and Terabe, 2009) as well as CORRESPONDENCE Gennaro De Libero: gennaro.delibero@unibas.ch OR Giulia Casorati: casorati.giulia@hsr.it OR Paolo Dellabona: dellabona.paolo@hsr.it OR Lucia Mori: lucia_mori@immunol.a-star.edu.sg