| First Author | Bihl F | Year | 2010 |
| Journal | J Immunol | Volume | 185 |
| Issue | 4 | Pages | 2174-81 |
| PubMed ID | 20624944 | Mgi Jnum | J:162384 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:4818816 | Doi | 10.4049/jimmunol.1001486 |
| Citation | Bihl F, et al. (2010) Primed Antigen-Specific CD4+ T Cells Are Required for NK Cell Activation In Vivo upon Leishmania major Infection. J Immunol 185(4):2174-81 |
| abstractText | The ability of NK cells to rapidly produce IFN-gamma is an important innate mechanism of resistance to many pathogens including Leishmania major. Molecular and cellular components involved in NK cell activation in vivo are still poorly defined, although a central role for dendritic cells has been described. In this study, we demonstrate that Ag-specific CD4(+) T cells are required to initiate NK cell activation early on in draining lymph nodes of L. major-infected mice. We show that early IFN-gamma secretion by NK cells is controlled by IL-2 and IL-12 and is dependent on CD40/CD40L interaction. These findings suggest that newly primed Ag-specific CD4(+) T cells could directly activate NK cells through the secretion of IL-2 but also indirectly through the regulation of IL-12 secretion by dendritic cells. Our results reveal an unappreciated role for Ag-specific CD4(+) T cells in the initiation of NK cell activation in vivo upon L. major infection and demonstrate bidirectional regulations between innate and adaptive immunity. |
