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Functional characterization of a T‐cell receptor BV6 + T‐cell clone derived from a leprosy lesion
Author(s) -
Sabet Shereen,
Ochoa MariaTeresa,
Sieling Peter A.,
Rea Thomas H.,
Modlin Robert L.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
immunology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.297
H-Index - 133
eISSN - 1365-2567
pISSN - 0019-2805
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2567.2006.02510.x
Subject(s) - biology , mycobacterium leprae , t cell receptor , clone (java method) , t cell , immune system , antigen , immunology , microbiology and biotechnology , leprosy , genetics , gene
Summary Human infection with Mycobacterium leprae , an intracellular bacterium, presents as a clinical and immunological spectrum; thus leprosy provides an opportunity to investigate mechanisms of T‐cell responsiveness to a microbial pathogen. Analysis of the T‐cell receptor (TCR) repertoire in leprosy lesions revealed that TCR BV6 + T cells containing a conserved CDR3 motif are over‐represented in lesions from patients with the localized form of the disease. Here, we derived a T‐cell clone from a leprosy lesion that expressed TCR BV6 and the conserved CDR3 sequence L‐S‐G. This T‐cell clone produced a T helper type 1 cytokine pattern, directly lysed M. leprae ‐pulsed antigen‐presenting cells by the granule exocytosis pathway, and expressed the antimicrobial protein granulysin. BV6 + T cells may therefore functionally contribute to the cell‐mediated immune response against M. leprae .