Adaptive Immune Response of Vγ2Vδ2 ⁺ T Cells During Mycobacterial Infections

Abstract

To examine the role of T cell receptor (TCR) in gammadelta T cells in adaptive immunity, a macaque model was used to follow Vgamma2Vdelta2+ T cell responses to mycobacterial infections. These phosphoantigen-specific gammadelta T cells displayed major expansion during Mycobacterium bovis Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) infection and a clear memory-type response after BCG reinfection. Primary and recall expansions of Vgamma2Vdelta2+ T cells were also seen during Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection of naive and BCG-vaccinated macaques, respectively. This capacity to rapidly expand coincided with a clearance of BCG bacteremia and immunity to fatal tuberculosis in BCG-vaccinated macaques. Thus, Vgamma2Vdelta2+ T cells may contribute to adaptive immunity to mycobacterial infections.

Antigen-specific Vγ2Vδ2 T effector cells confer homeostatic protection against pneumonic plaque lesions

“…(E)-4-hydroxy-3-methyl-but-2-enyl pyrophosphate immunotherapeutics ͉ lung ͉ macaques ͉ immune regulation ͉ clonal expansion A ccumulating evidence suggests that human V␥2V␦2 (also called V␥9V␦2) T cells may play a role in mediating immunity against microbial pathogens (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8). V␥2V␦2 T cells constitute 60-95% of circulating human ␥␦ T cells and are unique in their ability to massively expand during various bacterial and protozoal infections (9).…”

Bovine tuberculosis as a model for human tuberculosis: advantages over small animal models

“…It is unknown whether there is a gd T cell subset in guinea pigs and rabbits that recognizes phosphoantigens. Recently, it was found that these gd T cells form T cell memory in primates, and may thus be good targets for vaccine development [42].…”

γδ-T cells: an unpolished sword in human anti-infection immunity

“…Finally, there are still debates regarding whether cd-T cells also possess antigen specificity similar to ab-T cells, although rapid recall expansions of clonotypic cd-T cells have been found in mycobacterial 90 and Listeria monocytogenes 53 infections. A recent investigation demonstrating receptor selection in peripheral cd-T cells supported the existence of antigen-specific memory in human cd-T cells.…”