title: Formation of compact aggregates of B-lymphocytes in lung tissue during mycobacterial infection in mice depends on TNF production by these cells and is not an element of the host's immunological protection.
abstract: Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) plays a pivotal role in the early control of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and M. avium infections by a host. It was previously shown that both phagocyte-derived and T-cell-derived TNF productions are critical for protective immunity against M. tuberculosis, but the role of TNF produced by B-cells remained unclear. By comparing mice with B-cell-specific TNF deletion to littermate control mice, here we show that TNF production by B-lymphocytes is essential for the formation of infection-specific aggregates of B-cells in the lung. It is likely that these compact foci represent a pathogenic feature of inflammatory response rather than an element of protective immunity, since the capacity to form aggregates has no influence on the severity of M. tuberculosis- and M. avium-triggered diseases.
authors.affiliation: Central Research Institute of Tuberculosis, Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, Moscow, 107564, Russia. asapt@aha.ru.
authors.forename: T K
authors.initials: TK
authors.lastname: Kondratieva
authors.forename: I A
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: Linge
authors.forename: E V
authors.initials: EV
authors.lastname: Kondratieva
authors.forename: A V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Dyatlov
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Drutskaya
authors.forename: R V
authors.initials: RV
authors.lastname: Zvartsev
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Nedospasov
authors.forename: A S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Apt
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology* / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D002449:Cell Aggregation; D008168:Lung / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology*; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D009162:Mycobacterium avium / Q000276:immunology*; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000276:immunology*; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000172:deficiency / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha