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T cells use two directionally distinct pathways for cytokine secretion

Morgan Huse1, Björn F Lillemeier, Michael S Kuhns

  • 1Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California 94305, USA.

Nature Immunology
|January 31, 2006
PubMed

Activated T helper cells produce many cytokines, some of which are secreted through the immunological synapse toward the antigen-presenting cell. Here we have used immunocytochemistry, live-cell imaging and a surface-mediated secretion assay to show that there are two cytokine export pathways in T helper cells. Some cytokines, including interleukin 2 and interferon-gamma, were secreted into the synapse, whereas others, including tumor necrosis factor and the chemokine CCL3 (MIP-1alpha), were released multidirectionally. Each secretion pathway was associated with different trafficking proteins, indicating that they are molecularly distinct processes. These data suggest that T helper cells release some cytokines into the immunological synapse to impart specific communication and others multidirectionally to promote inflammation and to establish chemokine gradients.

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