Although the 38-kDa glycolipoprotein of Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv is known to evoke prominent cellular and humoral immune responses in human tuberculosis (TB), little information is known about intracellular regulatory mechanisms involved in 38-kDa antigen (Ag)-induced host responses. In this study, we found that purified 38-kDa glycolipoprotein activates mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs; extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 [ERK1/2] and p38) and induces tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-␣) and interleukin 6 (IL-6) in human monocytes. When the 38-kDa Ag was applied to monocytes from TB patients and healthy controls, the activation of ERK1/2 and p38 MAPK and the subsequent cytokine secretion were greater in the monocytes from the active pulmonary TB patients than in monocytes from the healthy controls. Additionally, neutralizing antibodies for Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) or TLR4 significantly reduced the ERK1/2 and p38 activation induced by the 38-kDa protein when the antibodies were applied to HEK293 cells overexpressing TLR2 or TLR4 as well as human primary monocytes. Furthermore, the inhibition of TLR2 significantly, and that of TLR4 partially, decreased the 38-kDa Ag-induced secretion of TNF-␣ and IL-6 in human monocytes. The intact protein moieties of the 38-kDa protein were responsible for biologic activities by this Ag. These data collectively demonstrate that the 38-kDa glycolipoprotein, acting through both TLR2 and TLR4, induces the activation of the ERK1/2 and p38 MAPK pathways, which in turn play an essential role in TNF-␣ and IL-6 expression during mycobacterial infection.

To address the complex chronic effector properties of interleukin (IL)-10, we generated transgenic mice in which IL-10 was overexpressed in the lung. In these mice, IL-10 inhibited endotoxin-induced tumor necrosis factor production and neutrophil accumulation. IL-10 also caused mucus metaplasia, B and T cell-rich inflammation, and subepithelial fibrosis and augmented the levels of mRNA encoding Gob-5, mucins, and IL-13. In mice bred to have null mutations of IL-13, IL-4R␣, or STAT-6, transgenic IL-10 did not induce mucus metaplasia but did induce inflammation and fibrosis. IL-10 was also a critical mucin regulator of virus-induced mucus metaplasia. Thus, IL-10, although inhibiting lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammation, also causes mucus metaplasia, tissue inflammation, and airway fibrosis. These responses are mediated by multiple mechanisms with mucus metaplasia being dependent on and the inflammation and fibrosis being independent of an IL-13/ IL-4R␣/STAT-6 activation pathway.

Polyclonal CD4+ T cell activation is characteristic of spontaneous lupus. As a potential explanation for this phenotype, we hypothesized that T cells from lupus-prone mice are intrinsically hyperresponsive to stimulation with antigen, particularly to those peptide ligands having a low affinity for the T cell receptor (TCR). To test this hypothesis, we backcrossed the α and β chain genes of the AND TCR specific for amino acids 88–104 of pigeon cytochrome C (PCC) to the Fas-intact MRL/Mp+ Fas-lpr and to the H-2k–matched control backgrounds B10.BR and CBA/CaJ (MRL.AND, B10.AND, and CBA.AND, respectively), and assessed naive CD4+ TCR transgenic T cell activation in vitro after its encounter with cognate antigen and lower affinity altered peptide ligands (APLs). MRL.AND T cells, compared with control B10.AND and CBA.AND cells, proliferated more when stimulated with agonist antigen. More strikingly, MRL.AND T cells proliferated significantly more and produced more interleukin 2 when stimulated with the APLs of PCC 88–104, having lower affinity for the transgenic TCR. These results imply that one of the forces driving polyclonal activation of α/β T cells in lupus is an intrinsically heightened response to peptide antigen, particularly those with low affinity for the TCR, independent of the nature of the antigen-presenting cell and degree of costimulation.

γδ T cells secrete Th1- and Th2-like cytokines that help mediate innate and acquired immunity. We have addressed the mechanism whereby murine γδ T cells acquire the capacity to differentially produce such cytokines. Splenic γδ T cells could be polarized into IFN-γ- or IL-4-secreting cells in vitro; however, in contrast to CD4+ αβ T cells, γδ T cells predominantly produced IFN-γ, even in the presence of IL-4, a finding independent of genetic background. Like CD4+ Th1 cells, IFN-γ-producing cells expressed the IL-12 receptor β2-chain after activation in the presence of IL-12; however, unlike Th2 cells, IL-4-primed γδ T cells also expressed this receptor, even in the absence of IFN-γ and despite the presence of the transcription factor GATA-3. IL-12 also induced IL-4-primed γδ T cells to proliferate and to translocate Stat3/Stat4, indicating signaling through the IL-12 receptor. These molecular events can account for the predominant production of IFN-γ by γδ T cells in the presence of IL-12, despite the availability of IL-4. Early and predominant production of IFN-γ by γδ T cells likely is critical for the roles that these cells play in protection against intracellular pathogens and in tumor immunity.

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