title: Regulation of human T-cell homing receptor expression in cutaneous bacterial infection.
abstract: We investigated the regulation of T-cell homing receptors in infectious disease by evaluating the cutaneous lymphocyte antigen (CLA) in human leprosy. We found that CLA-positive cells were enriched in the infectious lesions associated with restricting the growth of the pathogen Mycobacterium leprae, as assessed by the clinical course of infection. Moreover, CLA expression on T cells isolated from the peripheral blood of antigen-responsive tuberculoid leprosy patients increased in the presence of M. leprae (2.4-fold median increase; range 0.8-6.1, n = 17), but not in unresponsive lepromatous leprosy patients (1.0-fold median increase; range 0.1-2.2, n = 10; P < 0.005). Mycobacterium leprae specifically up-regulated the skin homing receptor, CLA, but not alpha(4)/beta(7), the intestinal homing receptor, which decreased on T cells of patients with tuberculoid leprosy after antigen stimulation (2.2-fold median decrease; range 1.6-3.4, n = 3). Our data indicate that CLA expression is regulated during the course of leprosy infection and suggest that T-cell responsiveness to a microbial antigen directs antigen-specific T cells to the site of infection.
authors.affiliation: Division of Dermatology, Department of Medicine, The David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA. psieling@mednet.ucla.edu
authors.forename: Peter A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Sieling
authors.forename: Annaliza
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Legaspi
authors.forename: Maria Teresa
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Ochoa
authors.forename: Thomas H
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Rea
authors.forename: Robert L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Modlin
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000945:Antigens, Differentiation, T-Lymphocyte; D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D007111:Immunity, Cellular; D007918:Leprosy / Q000276:immunology*; D015440:Leprosy, Lepromatous / Q000276:immunology; D015441:Leprosy, Tuberculoid / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D008875:Middle Aged; D016201:Receptors, Lymphocyte Homing / Q000378:metabolism*; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology; D015854:Up-Regulation / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000945:Antigens, Differentiation, T-Lymphocyte; D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm; C063419:CTAGE1 protein, human; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; D016201:Receptors, Lymphocyte Homing