Prolonged (E)-4-hydroxy-3-methyl-but-2-enyl pyrophosphate-driven antimicrobial and cytotoxic responses of pulmonary and systemic Vγ2Vδ2 T cells in macaques

Z Ali, L Shao, L Halliday, A Reichenberg… - The Journal of …, 2007 - journals.aai.org
Z Ali, L Shao, L Halliday, A Reichenberg, M Hintz, H Jomaa, ZW Chen
The Journal of Immunology, 2007journals.aai.org
Although phosphoantigen-specific Vγ2Vδ2 T cells appear to play a role in antimicrobial and
anticancer immunity, mucosal immune responses and effector functions of these γδ T cells
during infection or phospholigand treatment remain poorly characterized. In this study, we
demonstrate that the microbial phosphoantigen (E)-4-hydroxy-3-methyl-but-2-enyl
pyrophosphate (HMBPP) plus IL-2 treatment of macaques induced a prolonged major
expansion of circulating Vγ2Vδ2 T cells that expressed CD8 and produced cytotoxic perforin …
Abstract
Although phosphoantigen-specific Vγ2Vδ2 T cells appear to play a role in antimicrobial and anticancer immunity, mucosal immune responses and effector functions of these γδ T cells during infection or phospholigand treatment remain poorly characterized. In this study, we demonstrate that the microbial phosphoantigen (E)-4-hydroxy-3-methyl-but-2-enyl pyrophosphate (HMBPP) plus IL-2 treatment of macaques induced a prolonged major expansion of circulating Vγ2Vδ2 T cells that expressed CD8 and produced cytotoxic perforin during their peak expansion. Interestingly, HMBPP-activated Vγ2Vδ2 T cells underwent an extraordinary pulmonary accumulation, which lasted for 3–4 mo, although circulating Vγ2Vδ2 T cells had returned to baseline levels weeks prior. The Vγ2Vδ2 T cells that accumulated in the lung following HMBPP/IL-2 cotreatment displayed an effector memory phenotype, as follows: CCR5+ CCR7− CD45RA− CD27+ and were able to re-recognize phosphoantigen and produce copious amounts of IFN-γ up to 15 wk after treatment. Furthermore, the capacity of massively expanded Vγ2Vδ2 T cells to produce cytokines in vivo coincided with an increase in numbers of CD4+ and CD8+ αβ T cells after HMBPP/IL-2 cotreatment as well as substantial perforin expression by CD3+ Vγ2− T cells. Thus, the prolonged HMBPP-driven antimicrobial and cytotoxic responses of pulmonary and systemic Vγ2Vδ2 T cells may confer immunotherapeutics against infectious diseases and cancers.
journals.aai.org