T Lymphocyte Response toNeisseria gonorrhoeaePorin in Individuals with Mucosal Gonococcal Infections

Abstract

T lymphocytes from a majority of patients with urogenital gonococcal disease (67%-80%) proliferated on incubation with gonococcal porin (Por), compared with minimal induced proliferation of T lymphocytes from normal volunteers. A significant increase in Por-specific interleukin (IL)-4-producing CD4+ T helper lymphocytes was seen in patients with mucosal gonococcal disease and not in normal controls. Similar results were observed in CD8+ T lymphocytes from these patients. There was no measured increase in IL-2, IL-10, IL-12, interferon-gamma, or tumor necrosis factor-alpha production by T lymphocytes from infected subjects on incubation with Por. Concomitant increases in IL-4 production in T lymphocytes from infected subjects expressing the mucosal addresin VLAalpha4/beta7 on their surface were also observed on Por incubation, but the increases were similar in T lymphocytes that were VLAalpha4/beta7 negative. In conclusion, mucosal gonococcal disease can induce Por-specific circulating T lymphocytes with a Th2 phenotype, and a portion of these Por-specific T lymphocytes can potentially traffic to mucosal surfaces.

Dendritic Cell Activation and Cytokine Production Induced by Group BNeisseria meningitidis: Interleukin-12 Production Depends on Lipopolysaccharide Expression in Intact Bacteria

“…Porins from N. meningitidis are activators of B cells and antigen-presenting cells, and porin-specific T-cell responses have been described (18,26,44). T-cell responses to porins from the related organism Neisseria gonorrhoea have also been described (32). N. gonorrhoea components have been shown to activate transcription factors Nf-B and AP-1/c-jun in epithelial cells (24,25).…”

Type IV Pili ofNeisseria gonorrhoeaeInfluence the Activation of Human CD4+T Cells

“…In contrast, other neisserial factors have been shown upregulate the proliferation and activation of immune cells. Gonococcal porin induces the proliferation of T lymphocytes from patients with urogenital gonococcal disease, without inducing proliferation of cells from noninfected patients, and a significant increase in porin-specific interleukin-4 (IL-4)-producing CD4 ϩ and CD8 ϩ T cells have been observed in patients with mucosal gonococcal disease (28). It has also been demonstrated by Levine et al that the number of CD4 ϩ T cells in vaginal washings from women with acute gonococcal disease is greater than that of uninfected women (16).…”

por Variable-Region Typing by DNA Probe Hybridization Is Broadly Applicable to Epidemiologic Studies of Neisseria gonorrhoeae

“…Sequence diversity of porB is primarily localized to regions encoding the predicted surface-exposed loops (12). Por is essential for cell viability, does not undergo phase variation (1), and is of interest in relation to both the pathogenicity and the immunogenicity of N. gonorrhoeae (10,14,24,33,42), making Por an attractive typing target.…”