Nitric oxide (NO) contributes to protection from tuberculosis (TB). It is generally assumed that this protection is due to direct inhibition of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) growth, which prevents subsequent pathological inflammation. In contrast, we report NO primarily protects mice by repressing an interleukin-1 and 12/15-lipoxygenase dependent neutrophil recruitment cascade that promotes bacterial replication. Using Mtb mutants as indicators of the pathogen's environment, we inferred that granulocytic inflammation generates a nutrient-replete niche that supports Mtb growth. Parallel clinical studies indicate that a similar inflammatory pathway promotes TB in patients. The human 12/15 lipoxygenase ortholog, ALOX12, is expressed in cavitary TB lesions, the abundance of its products correlate with the number of airway neutrophils and bacterial burden, and a genetic polymorphism that increases ALOX12 expression is associated with TB risk. These data suggest that Mtb exploits neutrophilic inflammation to preferentially replicate at sites of tissue damage that promote contagion.

Macrophages are pivotal in promoting wound healing. We hypothesized that topical application of liposomes with glycolipids that carry Gala1-3Galb1-4GlcNAc-R epitopes (α-gal liposomes) on wounds may accelerate the healing process by rapid recruitment and activation of macrophages in wounds. Immune complexes of the natural anti-Gal Ab (constituting ~1% of Ig in humans) bound to its ligand, the α-gal epitope on α-gal liposomes would induce local activation of complement and generation of complement chemotactic factors that rapidly recruit macrophages. Subsequent binding of the Fc portion of anti-Gal coating α-gal liposomes to FcγRs on recruited macrophages may activate macrophage genes encoding cytokines that mediate wound healing. We documented the efficacy of this treatment in α1,3galactosyltrasferase knockout mice. In contrast to wild-type mice, these knockout mice lack α-gal epitopes and can produce the anti-Gal Ab. The healing time of excisional skin wounds treated with α-gal liposomes in these mice is twice as fast as that of control wounds. Moreover, scar formation in α-gal liposome-treated wounds is much lower than in physiologic healing. Additional sonication of α-gal liposomes resulted in their conversion into submicroscopic α-gal nanoparticles. These α-gal nanoparticles diffused more efficiently in wounds and further increased the efficacy of the treatment, resulting in 95–100% regeneration of the epidermis in wounds within 6 d. The study suggests that α-gal liposome and α-gal nanoparticle treatment may enhance wound healing in the clinic because of the presence of high complement activity and high anti-Gal Ab titers in humans.

A keystone of antiviral immunity is CD8 T-cell recognition of viral peptides bound to MHC-I proteins. The recognition mode of individual T cell receptors (TCRs) has been studied in some detail, but how TCR variation functions in providing a robust response to viral antigen is unclear. The influenza M1 epitope is an immunodominant target of CD8 T cells helping to control influenza in HLA-A2+ individuals. Here, we show that many distinct TCRs are used by CD8 T cells to recognize HLA-A2/M1, encoding different structural solutions to the problem of specifically recognizing a relatively featureless peptide antigen. The vast majority of responding TCRs target small clefts between peptide and MHC. These broad repertoires lead to plasticity in antigen recognition and protection against T cell clonal loss and viral escape.

Most DNA viruses replicate in the cell nucleus, although the specific sites of virion assembly are as yet poorly defined. Electron microscopy on freeze-substituted, plastic-embedded sections of murine polyomavirus (PyV)-infected 3T3 mouse fibroblasts or mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) revealed tubular structures in the nucleus adjacent to clusters of assembled virions, with virions apparently “shed” or “budding” from their ends. Promyelocytic leukemia nuclear bodies (PML-NBs) have been suggested as possible sites for viral replication of polyomaviruses (BKV and SV40), herpes simplex virus (HSV), and adenovirus (Ad). Immunohistochemistry and FISH demonstrated co-localization of the viral T-antigen (Tag), PyV DNA, and the host DNA repair protein MRE11, adjacent to the PML-NBs. In PML −/− MEFs the co-localization of MRE11, Tag, and PyV DNA remained unchanged, suggesting that the PML protein itself was not responsible for their association. Furthermore, PyV-infected PML −/− MEFs and PML −/− mice replicated wild-type levels of infectious virus. Therefore, although the PML protein may identify sites of PyV replication, neither the observed “virus factories” nor virus assembly were dependent on PML. The ultrastructure of the tubes suggests a new model for the encapsidation of small DNA viruses.

Fifty years after the discovery of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), it remains unclear how primary infection with this virus leads to massive CD8 T-cell expansion and acute infectious mononucleosis (AIM) in young adults. AIM can vary greatly in severity, from a mild transient influenza-like illness to a prolonged severe syndrome. We questioned whether expansion of a unique HLA-A2.01-restricted, cross-reactive CD8 T-cell response between influenza virus A-M158 (IAV-M1) and EBV BMLF1280 (EBV-BM) could modulate the immune response to EBV and play a role in determining the severity of AIM in 32 college students. Only ex vivo total IAV-M1 and IAV-M1+EBV-BM cross-reactive tetramer+ frequencies directly correlated with AIM severity and were predictive of severe disease. Expansion of specific cross-reactive memory IAV-M1 T-cell receptor (TCR) Vβ repertoires correlated with levels of disease severity. There were unique profiles of qualitatively different functional responses in the cross-reactive and EBV-specific CD8 T-cell responses in each of the three groups studied, severe-AIM patients, mild-AIM patients, and seropositive persistently EBV-infected healthy donors, that may result from differences in TCR repertoire use. IAV-M1 tetramer+ cells were functionally cross-reactive in short-term cultures, were associated with the highest disease severity in AIM, and displayed enhanced production of gamma interferon, a cytokine that greatly amplifies immune responses, thus frequently contributing to induction of immunopathology. Altogether, these data link heterologous immunity via CD8 T-cell cross-reactivity to CD8 T-cell repertoire selection, function, and resultant disease severity in a common and important human infection. In particular, it highlights for the first time a direct link between the TCR repertoire with pathogenesis and the diversity of outcomes upon pathogen encounter.

This review discusses three inter-related topics: (1) the immaturity of the neonatal and infant immune response; (2) heterologous immunity, where prior infection history with unrelated pathogens alters disease outcome resulting in either enhanced protective immunity or increased immunopathology to new infections, and (3) epidemiological human vaccine studies that demonstrate vaccines can have beneficial or detrimental effects on subsequent unrelated infections. The results from the epidemiological and heterologous immunity studies suggest that the immune system has tremendous plasticity and that each new infection or vaccine that an individual is exposed to during a lifetime will potentially alter the dynamics of their immune system. It also suggests that each new infection or vaccine that an infant receives is not only perturbing the immune system but is educating the immune system and laying down the foundation for all subsequent responses. This leads to the question, is there an optimum way to educate the immune system? Should this be taken into consideration in our vaccination protocols?

Short Summary Detection of unique, functionally influenza A/EBV crossreactive oligoclonal CD8 T-cell repertoires in rare individuals who remain EBV-seronegative into fourth decade of life suggests that T-cell crossreactivity dependent heterologous immunity may protect from EBV infection.

NK and γδ T cells can eliminate tumor cells in many experimental models, but their effect on the development of tumors caused by virus infections in vivo is not known. Polyomavirus (PyV) induces tumors in neonatally infected mice of susceptible strains and in adult mice with certain immune deficiencies, and CD8+ αβ T cells are regarded as the main effectors in anti-tumor immunity. Here we report that adult TCRβ knockout (KO) mice that lack αβ but have γδ T cells remain tumor-free after PyV infection, whereas TCRβ×δ KO mice that lack all T cells develop tumors. In addition, E26 mice, which lack NK and T cells, develop the tumors earlier than TCRβ×δ KO mice. These observations implicate γδ T and NK cells in the resistance to PyV-induced tumors. Cell lines established from PyV-induced tumors activate NK and γδ T cells both in culture and in vivo and express Rae-1, an NKG2D ligand. Moreover, these PyV tumor cells are killed by NK cells in vitro, and this cytotoxicity is prevented by treatment with NKG2D-blocking antibodies. Our findings demonstrate a protective role for NK and γδ T cells against naturally occurring virus-induced tumors and suggest the involvement of NKG2D-mediated mechanisms.