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Interleukin‐6 regulates the phenotype of the immune response to a tuberculosis subunit vaccine
Author(s) -
Leal Irene S.,
Flórido Manuela,
Andersen Peter,
Appelberg Rui
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
immunology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.297
H-Index - 133
eISSN - 1365-2567
pISSN - 0019-2805
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2567.2001.01244.x
Subject(s) - mycobacterium tuberculosis , immune system , priming (agriculture) , biology , adjuvant , secretion , interferon gamma , interleukin 4 , tuberculosis vaccines , immunology , interleukin 12 , interleukin 2 , virology , tuberculosis , in vitro , cytotoxic t cell , medicine , biochemistry , botany , germination , pathology
Summary We investigated the role of interleukin‐6 (IL‐6) in the development of the immune response to a subunit vaccine against tuberculosis consisting of the culture filtrate proteins of Mycobacterium tuberculosis emulsified in the adjuvant dimethyldioctadecylammonium bromide (DDA). C57Bl/6 mice immunized with this vaccine developed a strong T helper 1 (Th1) response characterized by an increased production of interferon‐γ (IFN‐γ) secreted by CD4 + T cells. Neutralization of IL‐6 during in vivo priming resulted in marked reduction in the ability of T cells to secrete IFN‐γ and IL‐2 and to proliferate. IL‐6 gene‐disrupted mice primed with the vaccine showed a decrease in the number of IFN‐γ‐producing cells and an increase in IL‐4‐secreting cells as compared to control mice. In contrast, neutralization of IL‐6 during a boost of the vaccine in previously primed mice did not affect the development of IFN‐γ‐producing cells but still increased the number of IL‐4‐producing cells. Our work shows that IL‐6 plays a major role in the priming but not in the later expression of a Th1 response to a tuberculosis vaccine.