Laboratory of Cellular Immunology, National Institute for Infectious Diseases Lazzaro Spallanzani, Rome, Italy.
Cell Immunol. 2013 Apr;282(2):106-12. doi: 10.1016/j.cellimm.2013.05.001. Epub 2013 May 15.
Antigen-specific γδ T cells represent an early innate defense known to play an important role in anti-mycobacterial immunity. We have investigated the immune functions of Vγ9Vδ2 T cells from Broncho-Alveolar lavages (BAC) samples of active TB patients. We observed that BAC Vγ9Vδ2 T cells presented a strong down-modulation of CD3 expression compared with Vγ9Vδ2 T cells from peripheral blood. Furthermore, Vγ9Vδ2 T cells mainly showed a central memory phenotype, expressed high levels of NK inhibitory receptors and TEMRA cells showed low expression of CD16 compared to circulating Vγ9Vδ2 T cells. Interestingly, the ability of BAC Vγ9Vδ2 T cells to respond to antigen stimulation was dramatically reduced, differently from blood counterpart. These observations indicate that γδ T cell functions are specifically impaired in situ by active TB, suggesting that the alveolar ambient during tuberculosis may affect resident γδ T cells in comparison to circulating cells.
抗原特异性 γδ T 细胞代表一种早期先天防御，已知其在抗分枝杆菌免疫中发挥重要作用。我们研究了来自活动性肺结核患者支气管肺泡灌洗液 (BAC) 样本的 Vγ9Vδ2 T 细胞的免疫功能。我们观察到，与外周血中的 Vγ9Vδ2 T 细胞相比，BAC Vγ9Vδ2 T 细胞的 CD3 表达明显下调。此外，Vγ9Vδ2 T 细胞主要表现为中央记忆表型，表达高水平的 NK 抑制性受体，而 TEMRA 细胞与循环 Vγ9Vδ2 T 细胞相比，CD16 的表达水平较低。有趣的是，与血液对应物不同，BAC Vγ9Vδ2 T 细胞对抗原刺激的反应能力显著降低。这些观察结果表明，γδ T 细胞功能在活动性肺结核中受到特异性损伤，提示与循环细胞相比，肺结核期间肺泡环境可能会影响驻留 γδ T 细胞。
