Ligand-specific alphabeta and gammadelta T cell responses in childhood tuberculosis.
The alphabeta and gammadelta T cell responses were analyzed in the peripheral blood of children affected by active tuberculosis (TB) and in healthy children who tested positive (PPD+) or negative (PPD-) for purified protein derivative. PPD+ healthy and diseased children responded equally well to PPD in vitro. In contrast, only 18% of PPD+ TB patients responded to peptide p38G derived from the 38-kDa protein of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Analysis of the whole gammadelta T cell population and of its Vgamma9/Vdelta2 subset showed similar frequencies in PPD+ children with TB and in healthy PPD+ and PPD- children. Vgamma9/Vdelta2 cells from children with TB responded to 5 different phosphoantigens similarly to those from healthy PPD+ children, but healthy PPD- children responded very poorly. Chemotherapy had contrasting effects on the tested lymphocyte population, represented by increase of alphabeta and decline of Vgamma9/Vdelta2 T cell responses. T cell responses in childhood TB may be similar to those in adult TB.
Dieli
F
F
Institute of General Pathology, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy.
Sireci
G
G
Di Sano
C
C
Romano
A
A
Titone
L
L
Di Carlo
P
P
Ivanyi
J
J
Fourniè
J J
JJ
Salerno
A
A
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D016693:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta; D016692:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, gamma-delta; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000276:immunology*
D016693:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta; D016692:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, gamma-delta