Bacteria-specific T-cell clones are selective in their reactivity towards different enterobacteria or H. pylori and increased in inflammatory bowel disease.
In the present study the authors investigated the T-cell response to different enterobacteria or Helicobacter pylori and tested the hypothesis that the frequency of bacteria-specific T cells is increased in the intestine of patients with active inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), i.e. Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). The analysis of a large panel of T-cell clones (Tc) (n = 888) from peripheral blood, non-inflamed and inflamed intestine from IBD patients and control individuals shows that both peripheral blood and intestinal T-cell clones were selectively stimulated by either Salmonella typhimurium, Yersinia enterocolitica 03, Escherichia coli or Helicobacter pylori sonicates, that only < 3% of all bacteria-reactive Tc were crossreactive and that proliferation to bacterial sonicates was inhibited by anti-MHC class II antibody. In addition, bacteria-specific Tc from IBD patients were more frequently isolated from inflamed intestine than from peripheral blood (P = 0.0039) or non-inflamed intestine. These data, from a large number of T-cell clones, are the first systematic analysis describing the response of individual T cells towards different bacterial species (ssp.). They show that T cells with specificity for distinct antigens or superantigens that are characteristic for a defined bacteria ssp. are present in normal, and increased in inflamed, IBD-intestine. These bacteria-specific Tc may play a role in IBD pathogenesis.
Duchmann
R
R
First Department of Internal Medicine, University of Mainz, Germany.
Märker-Hermann
E
E
Meyer zum Büschenfelde
K H
KH
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002999:Clone Cells; D004755:Enterobacteriaceae / Q000145:classification* / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D016480:Helicobacter pylori / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D015212:Inflammatory Bowel Diseases / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000473:pathology; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013045:Species Specificity; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000382:microbiology*