Gamma interferon-producing CD4+ T lymphocytes in the lung correlate with resistance to infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

The human immune system efficiently limits the replication of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in most infected individuals. Only 5 to 10% of infected people develop clinical tuberculosis, a sign of the inability of the immune system to control the infection. We have studied the C3H/HeJ (C3H) and C57BL/6 (B6) inbred mouse strains, which differ in their susceptibility to tuberculosis, in order to ascertain the immunological determinants of a successful immune response against M. tuberculosis and to establish a system to identify genes that influence susceptibility to tuberculosis. We found that the resistant B6 mice were able to control infection in both the lung and spleen, while susceptible C3H mice were incapable of limiting bacteria growth, especially in the lung, and succumbed to infection within 4 weeks. We determined that the susceptibility of C3H mice was independent of the Toll-like receptor 4 (tlr4) genetic locus and allelic major histocompatibility complex differences. Although the splenic immune responses were similar in the two mouse strains, the local immune responses in the lungs of the infected mice differed greatly. The pulmonary immune response in resistant B6 mice was characterized by an early influx of both CD4+ and CD8+ lymphocytes that produced gamma interferon (IFN-gamma). In contrast, the immune response of C3H mice in the lung was characterized by a delayed and decreased influx of lymphocytes, which produced little IFN-gamma. These results suggest an important role for the early appearance of IFN-gamma-producing lymphocytes in the lung in resistance to infection with M. tuberculosis.