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Comparative Study
. 2010 Aug;40(8):2211-20.
doi: 10.1002/eji.201040455.

Multifunctional CD4(+) T cells correlate with active Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection

Nadia Caccamo  1 , Giuliana Guggino, Simone A Joosten, Giuseppe Gelsomino, Paola Di Carlo, Lucina Titone, Domenico Galati, Marialuisa Bocchino, Alessandro Matarese, Alfredo Salerno, Alessandro Sanduzzi, Willeke P J Franken, Tom H M Ottenhoff, Francesco Dieli
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Free article
Comparative Study

Multifunctional CD4(+) T cells correlate with active Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection

Nadia Caccamo et al. Eur J Immunol. 2010 Aug.
Free article

Abstract

Th1 CD4(+) T cells and their derived cytokines are crucial for protection against Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Using multiparametric flow cytometry, we have evaluated the distribution of seven distinct functional states (IFN-γ/IL-2/TNF-α triple expressors, IFN-γ/IL-2, IFN-γ/TNF-α or TNF-α/IL-2 double expressors or IFN-γ, IL-2 or TNF-α single expressors) of CD4(+) T cells in individuals with latent M. tuberculosis infection (LTBI) and active tuberculosis (TB). We found that triple expressors, while detectable in 85-90%TB patients, were only present in 10-15% of LTBI subjects. On the contrary, LTBI subjects had significantly higher (12- to 15-fold) proportions of IL-2/IFN-γ double and IFN-γ single expressors as compared with the other CD4(+) T-cell subsets. Proportions of the other double or single CD4(+) T-cell expressors did not differ between TB and LTBI subjects. These distinct IFN-γ, IL-2 and TNF-α profiles of M. tuberculosis-specific CD4(+) T cells seem to be associated with live bacterial loads, as indicated by the decrease in frequency of multifunctional T cells in TB-infected patients after completion of anti-mycobacterial therapy. Our results suggest that phenotypic and functional signatures of CD4(+) T cells may serve as immunological correlates of protection and curative host responses, and be a useful tool to monitor the efficacy of anti-mycobacterial therapy.

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