Role of CD4+IL-9 producing T lymphocytes in human tuberculosis.

ALVAREZ IB; ASPERA RH; PEÑA D; MORACHO L; MUSELLA RM; JURADO JO; PASQUINELLI V; GARCÍA VE

CAPITAL FEDERAL

Congreso; First French-Argentine Immunology Congress (FAIC); 2010

Abstract Protection against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) depends on cell mediated immunity. Thus, activated specific T lymphocytes display a crucial role in the immune response of the host against the pathogen. In particular, CD4+IFN-γ secreting T cells display a main function in this response. However, different subsets of CD4+ T lymphocytes might participate in the immune response to Mtb. Recently, a novel CD4+ T cell subset named ?Th9? was described. This population are lymphocytes that secret IL-9 and IL-10 and express the transcription factor PU.1. In this work we investigated the potential function of CD4+ IL-9 producing T cells. Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells (PBMC) from tuberculosis patients (TB) and healthy donors (HD) were stimulated with Mtb antigen and the production of IL-9 was determined by ELISA. Our results showed that Mtb-stimulation induced significantly higher levels of IL-9 in HD compared to TB patients (p