| First Author | Saunders BM | Year | 2004 |
| Journal | Clin Exp Immunol | Volume | 137 |
| Issue | 2 | Pages | 279-87 |
| PubMed ID | 15270844 | Mgi Jnum | J:92313 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:3052380 | Doi | 10.1111/j.1365-2249.2004.02518.x |
| Citation | Saunders BM, et al. (2004) T cell-derived tumour necrosis factor is essential, but not sufficient, for protection against Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. Clin Exp Immunol 137(2):279-87 |
| abstractText | Tumour necrosis factor (TNF) is critical for sustained protective immunity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. To investigate the relative contributions of macrophage- and T cell-derived TNF towards this immunity T cells from wild-type (WT) or TNF-/- mice were transferred into RAG-/- or TNF-/- mice which were then infected with M. tuberculosis. Infected RAG-/- mice and RAG-/- recipients of TNF deficient T cells developed overwhelming infection, with extensive pulmonary and hepatic necrosis and succumbed with a median of only 16 days infection. By contrast, RAG-/- recipients of WT T cells showed a significant increase in survival with a median of 32 days. Although initial bacterial growth was similar in all groups of RAG-/- mice, the transfer of WT, but not TNF-/-, T cells led to the formation of discrete foci of leucocytes and macrophages and delayed the development of necrotizing pathology. To determine requirements for macrophage-derived TNF, WT or TNF-/- T cells were transferred into TNF-/- mice at the time of M. tuberculosis infection. Transfer of WT T cells significantly prolonged survival and reduced the early tissue necrosis evident in the TNF-/- mice, however, these mice eventually succumbed indicating that T cell-derived TNF alone is insufficient to control the infection. Therefore, both T cell- and macrophage-derived TNF play distinct roles in orchestrating the protective inflammatory response and enhancing survival during M. tuberculosis infection. |
