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Cellular and Molecular Immunology logoLink to Cellular and Molecular Immunology
. 2008 Jun;5(3):203–208. doi: 10.1038/cmi.2008.25

Interleukin 17-Producing γδ T Cells Increased in Patients with Active Pulmonary Tuberculosis

Meiyu Peng 1, Zhaohua Wang 2, Chunyan Yao 1, Lina Jiang 1, Qili Jin 1, Jing Wang 1, Baiqing Li 1,*
PMCID: PMC4651291  PMID: 18582402

Abstract

Although it has been known that γδ T cells may play an important role in the immune response to infection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tb), the mechanisms by which the γδ T cells participate in the innate and/or acquired immunity to tuberculosis (TB) have not been full elucidated. In the present study, 27 patients with active pulmonary TB and 16 healthy donors (HD) were performed. We found that proportion of IL-17-producing cells among lymphocyte was similar between TB patients and HD, whereas the proportions of γδ T cells in IL-17-producing cells (59.2%) and IL-17-producing cells in γδ T cells (19.4%) in peripheral blood were markedly increased in TB patients when compared to those in HD (43.9% and 7.7%, respectively). In addition, the proportions of IFN-γ-producing γδ T cells in TB patients were obviously lower than that in HD. Upon re-stimulated with M. tb heat-treated antigen (M. tb-HAg) in vitro, fewer IL-17-producing γδ T cells were generated from HD and TB patients, whereas IFN-γ-producing γδ T cells were increased in TB patients compared to that in HD. Our findings in TB patients and healthy human were consistent with other murine investigation that the IL-17-producing γδ T cells were main source of IL-17 in mouse model of BCG infection, suggesting that γδ T cells might be involved in the formation of tubercular granuloma in pulmonary TB patients, but need further identification.

Keywords: Mycobacterium tuberculosis, γδ T cell, IL-17, pulmonary tuberculosis

Glossary

IL-17

interleukin 17

PBMC

perpherial blood mononuclear cells

IFN

interferon

HD

healthy donor

TB

tuberculosis

mAb

monoclonal antibody

BCG

bovis bacille Calmette-Guerin

PMA

Phorbo 12-myristate 13-acetate

M.tb

Mucybacterium tuberculosis

M. tb-HAg

M. tb heat treated antigen

M. tb-AT

M. tb-HAg activated T cell

NBS

newborn bovine serum


Articles from Cellular and Molecular Immunology are provided here courtesy of Nature Publishing Group

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