Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Institut de Pharmacologie et de Biologie Structurale, Toulouse, France.
Eur J Immunol. 2013 Feb;43(2):327-30. doi: 10.1002/eji.201243256.
Monocytes are blood leukocytes that can differentiate into several phagocytic cell types, including DCs, which are instrumental to the inflammatory response and host defence against microbes. A study published in this issue of the European Journal of Immunology by Balboa et al. [Eur. J. Immunol. 2013. 43: 335-347] suggests that a shift of the CD16(-) monocyte population toward a CD16(+) subpopulation may represent an immune evasion strategy that ultimately favors persistence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Together with other recent reports, the article by Balboa et al. sheds new light on the function of CD16(+) monocytes in health and disease; in this commentary, we discuss the implications stemming from these findings.
单核细胞是血液中的白细胞，可以分化为几种吞噬细胞类型，包括 DC，它们在炎症反应和宿主防御微生物方面起着重要作用。发表在本期《欧洲免疫学杂志》上的一篇由 Balboa 等人撰写的研究[Eur. J. Immunol. 2013. 43: 335-347]表明，CD16(-)单核细胞群体向 CD16(+)亚群的转移可能代表一种免疫逃避策略，最终有利于结核分枝杆菌的持续存在。结合其他最近的报告，Balboa 等人的文章揭示了 CD16(+)单核细胞在健康和疾病中的功能；在这篇评论中，我们讨论了这些发现所产生的影响。
