T lymphocytes from healthy individuals with specificity to self- epitopes shared by the mycobacterial and human 65-kilodalton heat shock protein
The immune response to mycobacterial pathogens comprises a significant percentage of T cells with specificity for a 65-kDa heat shock protein (hsp) which is highly conserved in bacteria and man. PBMC were activated in vitro with killed Mycobacterium tuberculosis and afterward tested for CTL activity...
Saved in:
Published in | The Journal of immunology (1950) Vol. 143; no. 9; pp. 2844 - 2849 |
---|---|
Main Authors | , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
United States
Am Assoc Immnol
01.11.1989
|
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
Cover
Loading…
Summary: | The immune response to mycobacterial pathogens comprises a significant percentage of T cells with specificity for a 65-kDa heat shock protein (hsp) which is highly conserved in bacteria and man. PBMC were activated in vitro with killed Mycobacterium tuberculosis and afterward tested for CTL activity on autologous target cells primed with 1) killed M. tuberculosis, 2) intact recombinant 65-kDa hsp of Mycobacterium bovis/M. tuberculosis; or 3) tryptic fragments of the recombinant 65-kDa hsp. Strong CTL activity was observed on targets primed with killed M. tuberculosis or with tryptic fragments of the 65-kDa hsp, but not on those primed with the intact 65-kDa hsp. M. tuberculosis activated T cells from 2/13 donors tested exerted killer activity against unprimed targets. To assess whether T cell responses were directed against self-epitopes shared by the mycobacterial and human 65-kDa hsp, four peptides of at least 10 amino acids length were synthesized corresponding to fully or almost identical regions of these molecules. Peripheral blood T cells from 8/9 individuals tested, after activation with killed M. tuberculosis, expressed strong CTL activity toward autologous targets primed with one or more of these synthetic peptides. By using HLA-DR transfected murine L cells we found that the epitopes were recognized in the context of histocompatible HLA-DR (class II) molecules. We conclude that the demonstration of T cells with specificity to self-epitopes in vitro is not indicative for autoimmune disease. However, if at certain stages of infection such T cells are activated by crossreactive microbial epitopes they could cause autoimmune responses. |
---|---|
Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-2 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-1 content type line 23 ObjectType-Article-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 |
ISSN: | 0022-1767 1550-6606 |
DOI: | 10.4049/jimmunol.143.9.2844 |