Mycobacterium tuberculosis-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cells differ in their capacity to recognize infected macrophages.

Containment of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection requires T cell recognition of infected macrophages. Mtb has evolved to tolerate, evade, and subvert host immunity. Despite a vigorous and sustained CD8+ T cell response during Mtb infection, CD8+ T cells make limited contribution to protection. Here, we ask whether the ability of Mtb-specific T cells to restrict Mtb growth is related to their capacity to recognize Mtb-infected macrophages. We derived CD8+ T cell lines that recognized the Mtb immunodominant epitope TB10.44-11 and compared them to CD4+ T cell lines that recognized Ag85b240-254 or ESAT63-17. While the CD4+ T cells recognized Mtb-infected macrophages and inhibited Mtb growth in vitro, the TB10.4-specific CD8+ T cells neither recognized Mtb-infected macrophages nor restricted Mtb growth. TB10.4-specific CD8+ T cells recognized macrophages infected with Listeria monocytogenes expressing TB10.4. However, over-expression of TB10.4 in Mtb did not confer recognition by TB10.4-specific CD8+ T cells. CD8+ T cells recognized macrophages pulsed with irradiated Mtb, indicating that macrophages can efficiently cross-present the TB10.4 protein and raising the possibility that viable bacilli might suppress cross-presentation. Importantly, polyclonal CD8+ T cells specific for Mtb antigens other than TB10.4 recognized Mtb-infected macrophages in a MHC-restricted manner. As TB10.4 elicits a dominant CD8+ T cell response that poorly recognizes Mtb-infected macrophages, we propose that TB10.4 acts as a decoy antigen. Moreover, it appears that this response overshadows subdominant CD8+ T cell response that can recognize Mtb-infected macrophages. The ability of Mtb to subvert the CD8+ T cell response may explain why CD8+ T cells make a disproportionately small contribution to host defense compared to CD4+ T cells. The selection of Mtb antigens for vaccines has focused on antigens that generate immunodominant responses. We propose that establishing whether vaccine-elicited, Mtb-specific T cells recognize Mtb-infected macrophages could be a useful criterion for preclinical vaccine development.

Vaccine-elicited memory CD4+ T cell expansion is impaired in the lungs during tuberculosis.

Immunological memory is the key biological process that makes vaccines possible. Although tuberculosis vaccines elicit protective immunity in animals, few provide durable protection. To understand why protection is transient, we evaluated the ability of memory CD4+ T cells to expand, differentiate, and control Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Both naïve and memory CD4+ T cells initially proliferated exponentially, and the accumulation of memory T cells in the lung correlated with early bacterial control. However, later during infection, memory CD4+ T cell proliferation was curtailed and no protection was observed. We show that memory CD4+ T cells are first activated in the LN and their recruitment to the lung attenuates bacterial growth. However, their interaction with Mtb-infected macrophages does not promote continued proliferation. We conclude that a lack of sustained expansion by memory-derived T cells in the lung limits the durability of their protection, linking their slower expansion with transient protection in vaccinated mice.

The single kinin receptor signals to separate and independent physiological pathways in Malpighian tubules of the yellow fever mosquito.

In the past, we have used the kinins of the cockroach Leucophaea (the leucokinins) to evaluate the mechanism of diuretic action of kinin peptides in Malpighian tubules of the yellow fever mosquito Aedes aegypti. Now using the kinins of Aedes (the aedeskinins), we have found that in isolated Aedes Malpighian tubules all three aedeskinins (1 microM) significantly 1) increased the rate of fluid secretion (V(S)), 2) hyperpolarized the basolateral membrane voltage (V(bl)), and 3) decreased the input resistance (R(in)) of principal cells, consistent with the known increase in the Cl(-) conductance of the paracellular pathway in Aedes Malpighian tubules. Aedeskinin-III, studied in further detail, significantly increased V(S) with an EC(50) of 1.5 x 10(-8) M. In parallel, the Na(+) concentration in secreted fluid significantly decreased, and the K(+) concentration significantly increased. The concentration of Cl(-) remained unchanged. While the three aedeskinins triggered effects on V(bl), R(in), and V(S), synthetic kinin analogs, which contain modifications of the COOH-terminal amide pentapeptide core sequence critical for biological activity, displayed variable effects. For example, kinin analog 1578 significantly stimulated V(S) but had no effect on V(bl) and R(in), whereas kinin analog 1708 had no effect on V(S) but significantly affected V(bl) and R(in). These observations suggest separate signaling pathways activated by kinins. One triggers the electrophysiological response, and the other triggers fluid secretion. It remains to be determined whether the two signaling pathways emanate from a single kinin receptor via agonist-directed signaling or from a differentially glycosylated receptor. Occasionally, Malpighian tubules did not exhibit a detectable response to natural and synthetic kinins. Hypothetically, the expression of the kinin receptor may depend on developmental, nutritional, and/or reproductive signals.

Roles of PKC and phospho-adducin in transepithelial fluid secretion by Malpighian tubules of the yellow fever mosquito.

The diuretic hormone aedeskinin-III is known to increase the paracellular Cl- conductance in Malpighian (renal) tubules of the mosquito Aedes aegypti via a G protein-coupled receptor. The increase serves the blood-meal-initiated diuresis and is associated with elevated levels of Ca2+ and phosphorylated adducin in the cytosol of tubule. In the present study we have cloned adducin in Aedes Malpighian tubules and investigated its physiological roles. Immunolabeling experiments are consistent with the association of adducin with the cortical cytoskeleton, especially near the apical brush border of the tubule. An antibody against phosphorylated adducin revealed the transient phosphorylation of adducin 2 min after stimulating tubules with aedeskinin-III. The PKC inhibitor bisindolylmaleimide-I blocked the phosphorylation of adducin as well as the electrophysiological and diuretic effects of aedeskinin-III. Bisindolylmaleimide-I also inhibited fluid secretion in control tubules. Phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate increased phosphorylated adducin levels in Malpighian tubules, but it inhibited fluid secretion. Thus, the phosphorylation of adducin by PKC alone is insufficient to trigger diuretic rates of fluid secretion; elevated levels of intracellular Ca2+ may also be required. The above results suggest that the phosphorylation of adducin, which is known to destabilize the cytoskeleton, may (1) facilitate the traffic of transporters into the apical brush border supporting diuretic rates of cation secretion and (2) destabilize proteins in the septate junction thereby enabling paracellular anion (Cl-) secretion at diuretic rates. Moreover, PKC and the phosphorylation of adducin play a central role in control and diuretic tubules, consistent with the dynamic behavior of both transcellular and paracellular transport pathways.