European journal of immunology
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During inflammation and sepsis, accumulation of activated neutrophils causes lung tissue damage and organ failure. Effective clearance of neutrophils reduces the risk of organ failure; however, its mechanisms are poorly understood. Because lungs are rich in gammadeltaT cells, we investigated the physiological role of these cells in the protection of lung tissue from infiltrating neutrophils. ⋯ Pre-treatment with neutralizing antibodies to HSP72 diminished neutrophil killing. Our data indicate that HSP72 expression on the cell surface predisposes inflamed neutrophils to killing by gammadeltaT cells. This intercellular exchange may allow gammadeltaT cells to resolve inflammation and limit host tissue damage during sepsis.
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Comparative Study
Alternative activation deprives macrophages of a coordinated defense program to Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
A potent Th1 immune response is critical to the control of tuberculosis. The impact of an additive Th2 response on the course of disease has so far been insufficiently characterized, despite increased morbidity after co-infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Th2-eliciting helminths and possible involvement of Th2 polarization in reactivation of latent tuberculosis. Here, we describe the gene expression profile of murine bone marrow-derived macrophages alternatively activated by IL-4 in response to infection with M. tuberculosis. ⋯ Alternative activation of host macrophages correlated with elevated expression of the M. tuberculosis iron storage protein bacterioferritin as well as reduced expression of the mycobactin synthesis genes mbtI and mbtJ. The extracellular matrix-remodeling enzyme matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-12 was induced in alternatively activated macrophages in vitro, and MMP-12-expressing macrophages were abundant at late, but not early, stages of tuberculosis in murine lungs. Our findings emphasize that alternative activation deprives macrophages of control mechanisms that limit mycobacterial growth in vivo, thus supporting intracellular persistence of M. tuberculosis.