T-cell release of granulysin contributes to host defense in leprosy |
| |
Authors: | Ochoa M T Stenger S Sieling P A Thoma-Uszynski S Sabet S Cho S Krensky A M Rollinghoff M Nunes Sarno E Burdick A E Rea T H Modlin R L |
| |
Institution: | Division of Dermatology, University of California at Los Angeles School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California, USA. |
| |
Abstract: | A novel mechanism by which T cells contribute to host defense against microbial pathogens is release of the antimicrobial protein granulysin. We investigated the role of granulysin in human infectious disease using leprosy as a model. Granulysin-expressing T cells were detected in cutaneous leprosy lesions at a six-fold greater frequency in patients with the localized tuberculoid as compared with the disseminated lepromatous form of the disease. In contrast, perforin, a cytolytic molecule that colocalizes with granulysin in cytotoxic granules, was expressed at similar levels across the spectrum of disease. Within leprosy lesions, granulysin colocalized in CD4+ T cells and was expressed in CD4+ T-cell lines derived from skin lesions. These CD4+ T-cell lines lysed targets by the granule exocytosis pathway and reduced the viability of mycobacteria in infected targets. Given the broad antimicrobial spectrum of granulysin, these data provide evidence that T-cell release of granulysin contributes to host defense in human infectious disease. |
| |
Keywords: | |
本文献已被 PubMed 等数据库收录! |
|