The continuing HIV/AIDS epidemic and the spread of multi-drug resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) has perpetuated an epidemic of tuberculosis in populations around the world. While BCG is used universally as a vaccine, it is not effective in preventing pulmonary tuberculosis. To combat this ongoing worldwide scourge, vaccine development for tuberculosis is a priority. Convincing experimental evidence exists that CD8+ T cells are required for optimal immunity to tuberculosis in mice and other experimental animals. How T cell mediate protection is incompletely understood, and the old paradigm that IFN-g is end-all and be- all of T cell effector function is being dismantled. Importantly, ther is a huge, clinically important paradox - namely that T cells are crucial to immunity against TB, but the one mediator of protection, IFN-g, does not predict or correlate with protection against disease. Therefore, there must be other correlates of protection. Innovation: We have four retrogenic (Rg) mouse lines, each expressing a different TCR that recognizes the immunodominant epitope TB104-11. Interestingly, these different TCRs vary in their affinity and potential to mediate protection against virulent Mtb. These Rg make feasible experimental strategies to define the molecular basis for how CD8+ T cells mediate protection.
Aims : Overview: While there is little doubt that CD8+ T cells make an important contribution to protection against TB, the effector function(s) that inhibit Mtb growth are largely unknown.
In Aim 1, we will determine the different effector molecules that contribute to the protection mediated by CD8+ T cells during Mtb infection.
Aim 2 will focus on the basic signals that lead to T cell activation and determine how they impact the expression of protective effector functions. These include 1) strength of TCR signaling; 2) the role of CD4+ T cell help and IL-2; and 3) the inflammatory Signal 3. Much of what we know about T cell immunity to Mtb is from studies of primary infection. A more comprehensive understanding of memory T cell responses is needed for vaccine development. We observe a loss of the memory T cells following rechallenge. Thus, an important question is whether vaccine-elicited T cells have a durable phenotype without reversion to ineffectual T cells. Therefore, in Aim 3 we will address whether the primary and secondary CD8+ T cell responses differ in the effector pathways utilized and how they are regulated. Summary: Mtb is a successful pathogen that persists in humans despite a robust immune response. We have three goals: 1) define the mechanisms used by CD8+ T cells to restrict bacterial replication; 2) determine how effector mechanisms are regulated; and 3) determine whether primary and secondary CD8+ T cell responses are regulated differently. Our answers will not only illuminate how T cells mediate protection, but we expect to validate protective pathways that can function as biomarkers to guide vaccines development and evaluation.

Public Health Relevance

Pulmonary tuberculosis, the disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, is a threat to global health. Infection is usually asymptomatic because the immune system is able to limit bacterial growth. The disease tuberculosis occurs when the immune system is no longer able to contain the infection. This research application seeks understand how T cells mediate protection to tuberculosis.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
4R01AI106725-04
Application #
9109531
Study Section
Host Interactions with Bacterial Pathogens Study Section (HIBP)
Program Officer
Eichelberg, Katrin
Project Start
2013-08-02
Project End
2017-07-31
Budget Start
2016-08-01
Budget End
2017-07-31
Support Year
4
Fiscal Year
2016
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Massachusetts Medical School Worcester
Department
Microbiology/Immun/Virology
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
603847393
City
Worcester
State
MA
Country
United States
Zip Code
Rothchild, Alissa C; Stowell, Britni; Goyal, Girija et al. (2017) Role of Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor Production by T Cells during Mycobacterium tuberculosis Infection. MBio 8:
Carpenter, Stephen M; Nunes-Alves, Cláudio; Booty, Matthew G et al. (2016) A Higher Activation Threshold of Memory CD8+ T Cells Has a Fitness Cost That Is Modified by TCR Affinity during Tuberculosis. PLoS Pathog 12:e1005380
Smith, Clare M; Proulx, Megan K; Olive, Andrew J et al. (2016) Tuberculosis Susceptibility and Vaccine Protection Are Independently Controlled by Host Genotype. MBio 7:
Booty, Matthew G; Nunes-Alves, Cláudio; Carpenter, Stephen M et al. (2016) Multiple Inflammatory Cytokines Converge To Regulate CD8+ T Cell Expansion and Function during Tuberculosis. J Immunol 196:1822-31
Booty, Matthew G; Barreira-Silva, Palmira; Carpenter, Stephen M et al. (2016) IL-21 signaling is essential for optimal host resistance against Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. Sci Rep 6:36720
Nunes-Alves, Cláudio; Booty, Matthew G; Carpenter, Stephen M et al. (2015) Human and Murine Clonal CD8+ T Cell Expansions Arise during Tuberculosis Because of TCR Selection. PLoS Pathog 11:e1004849
Rothchild, Alissa C; Jayaraman, Pushpa; Nunes-Alves, Cláudio et al. (2014) iNKT cell production of GM-CSF controls Mycobacterium tuberculosis. PLoS Pathog 10:e1003805
Nunes-Alves, Cláudio; Booty, Matthew G; Carpenter, Stephen M et al. (2014) In search of a new paradigm for protective immunity to TB. Nat Rev Microbiol 12:289-99
Martinez, Nuria; Vallerskog, Therese; West, Kim et al. (2014) Chromatin decondensation and T cell hyperresponsiveness in diabetes-associated hyperglycemia. J Immunol 193:4457-68
Behar, Samuel M; Carpenter, Stephen M; Booty, Matthew G et al. (2014) Orchestration of pulmonary T cell immunity during Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection: immunity interruptus. Semin Immunol 26:559-77

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