Cutting edge: control of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection by a subset of lung parenchyma–homing CD4 T cells

S Sakai, KD Kauffman, JM Schenkel… - The Journal of …, 2014 - journals.aai.org
S Sakai, KD Kauffman, JM Schenkel, CC McBerry, KD Mayer-Barber, D Masopust
The Journal of Immunology, 2014journals.aai.org
Th1 cells are critical for containment of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection, but little else is
known about the properties of protective CD4 T cell responses. In this study, we show that
the pulmonary Th1 response against M. tuberculosis is composed of two populations that
are either CXCR3 hi and localize to lung parenchyma or are CX3CR1 hi KLRG1 hi and are
retained within lung blood vasculature. M. tuberculosis–specific parenchymal CD4 T cells
migrate rapidly back into the lung parenchyma upon adoptive transfer, whereas the …
Abstract
Th1 cells are critical for containment of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection, but little else is known about the properties of protective CD4 T cell responses. In this study, we show that the pulmonary Th1 response against M. tuberculosis is composed of two populations that are either CXCR3 hi and localize to lung parenchyma or are CX3CR1 hi KLRG1 hi and are retained within lung blood vasculature. M. tuberculosis–specific parenchymal CD4 T cells migrate rapidly back into the lung parenchyma upon adoptive transfer, whereas the intravascular effectors produce the highest levels of IFN-γ in vivo. Importantly, parenchymal T cells displayed greater control of infection compared with the intravascular counterparts upon transfer into susceptible T cell–deficient hosts. Thus, we identified a subset of naturally generated M. tuberculosis–specific CD4 T cells with enhanced protective capacity and showed that control of M. tuberculosis correlates with the ability of CD4 T cells to efficiently enter the lung parenchyma rather than produce high levels of IFN-γ.
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