title: Functional characterization of a T-cell receptor BV6+ T-cell clone derived from a leprosy lesion.
abstract: Human infection with Mycobacterium leprae, an intracellular bacterium, presents as a clinical and immunological spectrum; thus leprosy provides an opportunity to investigate mechanisms of T-cell responsiveness to a microbial pathogen. Analysis of the T-cell receptor (TCR) repertoire in leprosy lesions revealed that TCR BV6(+) T cells containing a conserved CDR3 motif are over-represented in lesions from patients with the localized form of the disease. Here, we derived a T-cell clone from a leprosy lesion that expressed TCR BV6 and the conserved CDR3 sequence L-S-G. This T-cell clone produced a T helper type 1 cytokine pattern, directly lysed M. leprae-pulsed antigen-presenting cells by the granule exocytosis pathway, and expressed the antimicrobial protein granulysin. BV6(+) T cells may therefore functionally contribute to the cell-mediated immune response against M. leprae.
authors.affiliation: Division of Dermatology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
authors.forename: Shereen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sabet
authors.forename: Maria-Teresa
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Ochoa
authors.forename: Peter A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Sieling
authors.forename: Thomas H
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Rea
authors.forename: Robert L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Modlin
mesh_terms: D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000276:immunology; D001483:Base Sequence; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002999:Clone Cells / Q000276:immunology; D022801:Complementarity Determining Regions / Q000276:immunology; D006684:HLA-DR Antigens / Q000276:immunology; D006650:Histocompatibility Testing; D006801:Humans; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000096:biosynthesis; D007918:Leprosy / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009166:Mycobacterium leprae / Q000276:immunology; D016693:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D022801:Complementarity Determining Regions; D006684:HLA-DR Antigens; D016693:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta; D007371:Interferon-gamma