Previous reports have shown that γδ T cells are important for the elimination of malaria parasites in humans and mice. However, how γδ T cells are involved in protective immunity against blood-stage malaria remains unknown. We infected γδ T-cell–deficient (TCRδ-KO) mice and control wild-type mice with Plasmodium berghei XAT, which is a nonlethal strain. Although infected red blood cells were eliminated within 30 d after infection, TCRδ-KO mice could not clear the infected red blood cells, showed high parasitemia, and eventually died. Therefore, γδ T cells are essential for clearance of the parasites. Here, we found that γδ T cells play a key role in dendritic cell activation after Plasmodium infection. On day 5 postinfection, γδ T cells produced IFN-γ and expressed CD40 ligand during dendritic cell activation. These results suggest that γδ T cells enhance dendritic cell activation via IFN-γ and CD40 ligand–CD40 signaling. This hypothesis is supported strongly by the fact that in vivo induction of CD40 signaling prevented the death of TCRδ-KO mice after infection with P . berghei XAT. This study improves our understanding of protective immunity against malaria and provides insights into γδ T-cell–mediated protective immunity against various infectious diseases.

Malaria is caused by infection with Plasmodium parasites. Various studies with knockout mice have indicated that IFN-γ plays essential roles in protective immunity against blood-stage Plasmodium infection. However, after Plasmodium infection, increased IFN-γ production by various types of cells is involved not only in protective immunity, but also in immunopathology. Recent reports have shown that IFN-γ acts as a pro-inflammatory cytokine to induce not only the activation of macrophages, but also the generation of uncommon myelolymphoid progenitor cells after Plasmodium infection. However, the effects of IFN-γ on hematopoietic stem cells and progenitor cells are unclear. Therefore, the regulation of hematopoiesis by IFN-γ during Plasmodium infection remains to be clarified. Although there are conflicting reports concerning the significance of γδ T cells in protective immunity against Plasmodium infection, γδ T cells may respond to infection and produce IFN-γ as innate immune cells in the early phase of blood-stage malaria. Our recent studies have shown that γδ T cells express CD40 ligand and produce IFN-γ after Plasmodium infection, resulting in the enhancement of dendritic cell activation as part of the immune response to eliminate Plasmodium parasites. These data suggest that the function of γδ T cells is similar to that of NK cells. Although several reports suggest that γδ T cells have the potential to act as memory cells for various infections, it remains to be determined whether memory γδ T cells are generated by Plasmodium infection and whether memory γδ T cells can contribute to the host defense against re-infection with Plasmodium. Here, we summarize and discuss the effects of IFN-γ and the various functions of γδ T cells in blood-stage Plasmodium infection.

Tumors or embryonic stem cells bearing foreign mitochondrial DNA are rejected by the innate immune system via a mechanism that depends on MyD88.

γδ T cells play a crucial role in controlling malaria parasites. Dendritic cell (DC) activation via CD40 ligand (CD40L)-CD40 signaling by γδ T cells induces protective immunity against the blood-stage Plasmodium berghei XAT (PbXAT) parasites in mice. However, it is unknown which γδ T-cell subset has an effector role and is required to control the Plasmodium infection. Here, using antibodies to deplete TCR Vγ1 cells, we saw that Vγ1 γδ T cells were important for the control of PbXAT infection. Splenic Vγ1 γδ T cells preferentially expand and express CD40L, and both Vγ1 and Vγ4 γδ T cells produce IFN-γ during infection. Although expression of CD40L on Vγ1 γδ T cells is maintained during infection, the IFN-γ positivity of Vγ1 γδ T cells is reduced in late-phase infection due to γδ T-cell dysfunction. In Plasmodium-infected IFN-γ signaling-deficient mice, DC activation is reduced, resulting in the suppression of γδ T-cell dysfunction and the dampening of γδ T-cell expansion in the late phase of infection. Our data suggest that Vγ1 γδ T cells represent a major subset responding to PbXAT infection and that the Vγ1 γδ T-cell response is dependent on IFN-γ-activated DCs.

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