title: IL-15 functions as a danger signal to regulate tissue-resident T cells and tissue destruction.
abstract: In this Opinion article, we discuss the function of tissues as a crucial checkpoint for the regulation of effector T cell responses, and the notion that interleukin-15 (IL-15) functions as a danger molecule that communicates to the immune system that the tissue is under attack and poises it to mediate tissue destruction. More specifically, we propose that expression of IL-15 in tissues promotes T helper 1 cell-mediated immunity and provides co-stimulatory signals to effector cytotoxic T cells to exert their effector functions and drive tissue destruction. Therefore, we think that IL-15 contributes to tissue protection by promoting the elimination of infected cells but that when its expression is chronically dysregulated, it can promote the development of complex T cell-mediated disorders associated with tissue destruction, such as coeliac disease and type 1 diabetes.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Medicine, Pathology and Pediatrics, University of Chicago, Knapp Center for Biomedical Discovery (KCBD), Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA.
authors.forename: Bana
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Jabri
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Infectious Diseases, and Immunology, University of Montreal, and the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire (CHU) Sainte-Justine Research Center, Montreal, Quebec H3T 1C5, Canada.
authors.forename: Valérie
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Abadie
mesh_terms: D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000276:immunology; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D002446:Celiac Disease / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007111:Immunity, Cellular / Q000276:immunology*; D019409:Interleukin-15 / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D053720:Interleukin-15 Receptor alpha Subunit / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D018448:Models, Immunological; D011485:Protein Binding / Q000276:immunology; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000276:immunology*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D018417:Th1 Cells / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D019409:Interleukin-15; D053720:Interleukin-15 Receptor alpha Subunit