This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing theresources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject andinvestigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source,and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed isfor the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator.Little is known about the immune distribution and localization of antigen-specific T cells in mucosal interfaces of tissues/organs during infection of humans. In this study, we made use of a macaque model of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection to assess phosphoantigen-specific Vgamma2Vdelta2 T cells regarding their tissue distribution, anatomical localization, and correlation with the presence or absence of tuberculosis (TB) lesions in lymphoid and nonlymphoid organs/tissues in the progression of severe pulmonary TB. Progression of pulmonary M. tuberculosis infection generated diverse distribution patterns of Vgamma 2Vdelta 2 T cells, with remarkable accumulation of these cells in lungs, bronchial lymph nodes, spleens, and remote nonlymphoid organs but not in blood. Increased numbers of Vgamma 2Vdelta 2 T cells in tissues were associated with M. tuberculosis infection but were independent of the severity of TB lesions. In lungs with apparent TB lesions, Vgamma 2Vdelta 2 T cells were present within TB granulomas. In extrathoracic organs, Vgamma 2Vdelta 2 T cells were localized in the interstitial compartment of nonlymphoid tissues, and the interstitial localization was present despite the absence of detectable TB lesions. Finally, Vgamma 2Vdelta 2 T cells accumulated in tissues appeared to possess cytokine production function, since granzyme B was detectable in the gamma delta T cells present within granulomas. Thus, clonally expanded Vgamma 2Vdelta 2 T cells appeared to undergo trans-endothelial migration, interstitial localization, and granuloma infiltration as immune responses to M. tuberculosis infection.
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