Modlin R L
Division of Dermatology, UCLA School of Medicine 90024.
J Invest Dermatol. 1994 Jun;102(6):828-32. doi: 10.1111/1523-1747.ep12381958.
The mechanism by which T cells and cytokines regulate immune processes in skin can be investigated by studying patients with leprosy. The disease, caused by the obligate intracellular bacterium Mycobacterium leprae, forms a spectrum. At one pole, patients with tuberculoid leprosy are able to restrict the growth of the pathogen and their skin lesions are characterized by a predominance of CD4+ T cells and type 1 cytokines including interleukin 2 and interferon gamma. At the opposite pole, patients with lepromatous leprosy are unable to contain the infection and their skin lesions are characterized by a predominance of CD8+ T cells and type 2 cytokines including interleukins 4 and 10. A key determinant of the T-cell cytokine response may be interleukin 12, which selectively favors expansion of CD4+ T cells producing interferon gamma. By understanding the factors that regulate T-cell and cytokine responses in leprosy, it should be possible to devise specific immunologic interventions in diseases of skin.
通过研究麻风病患者，可以探究T细胞和细胞因子调节皮肤免疫过程的机制。这种由专性胞内菌麻风分枝杆菌引起的疾病呈现出一种谱系。在一端，结核样型麻风病患者能够限制病原体的生长，其皮肤病变的特征是CD4 + T细胞和1型细胞因子（包括白细胞介素2和干扰素γ）占主导。在另一端，瘤型麻风病患者无法控制感染，其皮肤病变的特征是CD8 + T细胞和2型细胞因子（包括白细胞介素4和10）占主导。T细胞细胞因子反应的一个关键决定因素可能是白细胞介素12，它选择性地促进产生干扰素γ的CD4 + T细胞的扩增。通过了解调节麻风病中T细胞和细胞因子反应的因素，应该有可能设计出针对皮肤疾病的特异性免疫干预措施。
