title: Natural killer cells regulate Th1/Treg and Th17/Treg balance in chlamydial lung infection.
abstract: Natural killer (NK) cell is an important component in innate immunity, playing a critical role in bridging innate and adaptive immunity by modulating the function of other immune cells including T cells. In this study, we focused on the role of NK cells in regulating Th1/Treg and Th17/Treg balance during chlamydial lung infection. We found that NK cell-depleted mice showed decreased Th1 and Th17 cells, which was correlated with reduced interferon-γ, interleukin (IL)-12, IL-17 and IL-22 production as well as T-bet and receptor-related orphan receptor gamma t expression compared with mice treated with the isotype control antibody. In contrast, NK cell depletion significantly increased Treg in cell number and related transcription factor (Foxp3) expression. The opposite trends of changes of Th1/Th17 and Treg led to significant reduction in the Th1/Treg and Th17/Treg ratios. The data implicate that NK cells play an important role in host defence against chlamydial lung infection, mainly through maintaining Th1/Treg and Th17/Treg balance.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathogenic Biology, Shandong University School of Medicine, Jinan, Shandong, China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathogenic Biology, Shandong University School of Medicine, Jinan, Shandong, China.
authors.forename: Xiaojing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.affiliation: Institute of Basic Medical Science, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Shandong University School of Medicine, Jinan, Shandong, China.
authors.forename: Xiao
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Shandong University School of Medicine, Jinan, Shandong, China.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathogenic Biology, Shandong University School of Medicine, Jinan, Shandong, China.|Department of Immunology and Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.
authors.forename: Xi
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathogenic Biology, Shandong University School of Medicine, Jinan, Shandong, China.
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathogenic Biology, Shandong University School of Medicine, Jinan, Shandong, China.
authors.forename: Weiming
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhao
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015703:Antigens, CD / Q000378:metabolism; D002690:Chlamydia Infections / Q000276:immunology*; D016207:Cytokines / Q000378:metabolism; D007109:Immunity; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000276:immunology*; D008171:Lung Diseases / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology*; D008297:Male; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / Q000276:immunology*; D018417:Th1 Cells / Q000276:immunology*; D058504:Th17 Cells / Q000276:immunology*; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D015703:Antigens, CD; D016207:Cytokines; D014157:Transcription Factors; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta
keywords: Chlamydia; Th1/Treg; Th17/Treg; immunoregulation; natural killer cells