V beta1+ J beta1.1+/V alpha2+ J alpha49+ CD4+ T cells mediate resistance against infection with Blastomyces

Marcel Wüthrich1, Hanna I Filutowicz, Holly L Allen

  • 1Department of Pediatrics, University of Wisconsin Medical School, University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics, Madison, WI 53792, USA. mwuethri@wisc.edu

Infection and Immunity
|October 13, 2006
PubMed

Immunization with a cell wall/membrane (CW/M) and yeast cytosol extract (YCE) crude antigen from Blastomyces dermatitidis confers T-cell-mediated resistance against lethal experimental infection in mice. We isolated and characterized T cells that recognize components of these protective antigens and mediate protection. CD4+ T-cell clones elicited with CW/M antigen adoptively transferred protective immunity when they expressed a V alpha2+ J alpha49+/V beta1+ J beta1.1+ heterodimeric T-cell receptor (TCR) and produced high levels of gamma interferon (IFN-gamma). In contrast, V beta8.1/8.2+ CD4+ T-cell clones that were reactive against CW/M and YCE antigens and produced little or no IFN-gamma either failed to mediate protection or exacerbated the infection depending on the level of interleukin-5 expression. Thus, the outgrowth of protective T-cell clones against immunodominant antigens of B. dermatitidis is biased by a combination of the TCR repertoire and Th1 cytokine production.

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