title: Defining features of protective CD4 T cell responses to Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
abstract: CD4 T cells are critical for control of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection and represent the best hope for vaccine-elicited protection. However, little is understood about the properties of Mtb-specific CD4 T cells that mediate control, and the lack of correlates of protection present a significant barrier to the rational development of new vaccination and therapeutic strategies which are sorely needed. Here we discuss the features of protective CD4 T cells including recent evidence for IFN-γ dependent and independent mechanisms of protection, poor protection by terminally differentiated cells and the importance of T cell migratory capacity for the control of Mtb infection.
authors.affiliation: T Lymphocyte Biology Unit, Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
authors.forename: Shunsuke
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sakai
authors.affiliation: Immunobiology Section, Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA. Electronic address: barberd@niaid.nih.gov.
authors.forename: Katrin D
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Mayer-Barber
authors.affiliation: T Lymphocyte Biology Unit, Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
authors.forename: Daniel L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Barber
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology*; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D002465:Cell Movement; D006801:Humans; D007372:Interferons / Q000276:immunology; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000276:immunology*; D010641:Phenotype
chemical_list: D007372:Interferons