Neutrophil-mediated T-Cell Suppression in Influenza: Novel Finding Raising Additional Questions

• Published in: American journal of respiratory cell and molecular biology Vol. 58; no. 4; pp. 423 - 425
• Main Author: Zemans, Rachel L
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Thoracic Society 01.04.2018
• Subjects: Autoimmune diseases; Bacterial infections; Cancer; Cell growth; Cytotoxicity; Humans; Immune system; Inflammation; Influenza; Influenza, Human; Lymphocytes; Lymphocytes T; Macrophage-1 Antigen; Neutrophils; Nosocomial infections; Orthomyxoviridae Infections; Permeability; Reactive nitrogen species; Sepsis; T cell receptors; T-Lymphocytes; Ann Arbor Michigan; United States > US; Michigan
• ISSN: 1044-1549; 1535-4989
• DOI: 10.1165/rcmb.2017-0425ED

[...]adoptive transfer of Cd11b+/+, but not Cd11b2/2, neutrophils into Cd11b~/2 mice also mitigated lung injury with a trend toward diminished T-cell proliferation. Additional studies are needed to address whether the same mechanism mediates T-cell suppression by neutrophils during influenza infection in mice or whether other mechanisms, such as arginine depletion and reactive nitrogen species, induce the effect in a CD11b-dependent manner. Because neutrophil-derived signals are also critical for T-cell recruitment and activation during influenza pneumonia (15), the mechanisms that drive neutrophils or distinct subsets of neutrophils to differentially activate or inhibit T-cell immunity should be explored. Because neutrophils induce T-cell recruitment and activation, and both neutrophils and T cells are cytotoxic, generating a feedforward mechanism of inflammation and lung injury (1), T-cell suppression by neutrophils is likely critical to limit tissue damage by an unchecked immune system during influenza infection.