Identification of peptides presented through the MHC-II of dendritic cells stimulated with Mycobacterium avium.

Mycobacterium avium (M. avium) represents a species of concern, because of its ability to modulate the host's innate immune response, and therefore influence trajectory of adaptative immunity. Since eradicative response against mycobacteria, and M. tuberculosis/M. avium, relies on peptides actively presented on a Major Histocompatibility complex-II (MHC-II) context, we assessed paradoxical stimulation of Dendritic Cell resulting on immature immunophenotype characterized by membrane minor increase of MHC-II and CD40 despite of high expression of the pro-inflammatory tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in supernatants. Identification of M. avium leucine rich peptides forming short α-helices shutting down Type 1T helper (Th1), contribute to the understanding of immune evasion of an increasingly prevalent pathogen, and may provide a basis for future immunotherapy to infectious and non-infectious disease.