Hawkins Raymond A, Rank Roger G, Kelly Kathleen A
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, Arkansas, USA.
Infect Immun. 2002 Sep;70(9):5132-9. doi: 10.1128/IAI.70.9.5132-5139.2002.
A T helper type 1 (Th1) response is essential for resolving genital infections with the mouse pneumonitis biovar of Chlamydia trachomatis (MoPn). However, T-cell-dependent anti-chlamydial antibody is produced and may also contribute to protective immunity. We produced a MoPn-specific CD4 Th2 clone (Th2-MoPn) to study the role of a Th2 response during infection. We found that Th2-MoPn was unable to eradicate chlamydiae from the genital tract (GT) when it was transferred into MoPn-infected nude mice. Mice that received Th2-MoPn produced greater titers of MoPn-specific serum immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibody than mice that received a MoPn-specific Th1 clone (Th1-MoPn) (log(10) titers, 1.89 +/- 0.84 and 0.58 +/- 0.76 [mean +/- standard deviation], respectively [P < 0.01]). Also, the IgG isotypes were different for the two groups; whereas IgG1 was associated with Th2-MoPn, IgG2a was associated with Th1-MoPn. Also, infected nude mice that received Th2-MoPn produced higher levels of IgA in vaginal secretions. Although clone Th2-MoPn was detected in the GT, it was less efficient at migrating (112 +/- 35.6 labeled Th2 clone cells/10(5) GT cells) than Th1-MoPn (505 +/- 51.6 Th1 clone cells/10(5) GT cells) (P < 0.001, as determined by a t test). This may have been due to reduced expression of alpha4beta7 and P-selectin ligand 1 on Th2-MoPn. However, Th2-MoPn cells were retained in the GT during chronic infection and comprised 10 to 15% of the total GT cells 80 days after transfer. The data show that the MoPn-specific Th2 cells are important for serum and vaginal antibody production and may accumulate in the GT during chronic infection.
1型辅助性T细胞（Th1）反应对于清除沙眼衣原体小鼠肺炎生物变种（MoPn）引起的生殖道感染至关重要。然而，也会产生T细胞依赖性抗衣原体抗体，其可能也有助于保护性免疫。我们制备了一株MoPn特异性CD4 Th2克隆（Th2-MoPn），以研究Th2反应在感染过程中的作用。我们发现，当将Th2-MoPn转入感染MoPn的裸鼠体内时，它无法从生殖道（GT）清除衣原体。接受Th2-MoPn的小鼠产生的MoPn特异性血清免疫球蛋白G（IgG）抗体滴度高于接受MoPn特异性Th1克隆（Th1-MoPn）的小鼠（对数（10）滴度分别为1.89±0.84和0.58±0.76 [平均值±标准差] [P<0.01]）。此外，两组的IgG亚型不同；与Th2-MoPn相关的是IgG1，与Th1-MoPn相关的是IgG2a。而且，接受Th2-MoPn的感染裸鼠在阴道分泌物中产生的IgA水平更高。虽然在生殖道中检测到了克隆Th2-MoPn，但它的迁移效率（112±35.6个标记的Th2克隆细胞/10⁵个生殖道细胞）低于Th1-MoPn（505±51.6个Th1克隆细胞/10⁵个生殖道细胞）（通过t检验确定，P<0.001）。这可能是由于Th2-MoPn上α4β7和P-选择素配体1的表达降低所致。然而，在慢性感染期间，Th2-MoPn细胞保留在生殖道中，转移后80天占生殖道总细胞的10%至15%。数据表明，MoPn特异性Th2细胞对于血清和阴道抗体的产生很重要，并且在慢性感染期间可能在生殖道中积累。
