BALB/c mice can be protected against a normally fatal Leishmania major infection by immunization with a partially purified, soluble subfraction of the parasite (fraction 9). In this study, we demonstrate that a T cell line established against fraction 9, designated line 9, transfers protection equivalent to that obtained by active immunization. In contrast, T cell lines (lines 1 and 9.2) responsive to a nonprotective soluble fraction (fraction 1) not only failed to protect BALB/c mice against L. major, but exacerbated the infection. Most importantly, in addition to differing in their antigen specificity, protective and exacerbative T cells lines could be distinguished on the basis of the lymphokines produced, a characteristic previously used to separate murine Th cells into two subsets, designated Th1 and Th2. We found that the protective cell line, line 9, displayed the Th1 property of secreting IL-2 and IFN-gamma, while the exacerbating lines secreted IL-4 and IL-5, a characteristic of Th2 cells. Our results demonstrate that Th1 and Th2 cells may have dramatically different effects on the outcome of an infection, and suggest that susceptibility and resistance in experimental leishmaniasis may depend upon a balance between the Th subsets induced.
Article|
November 01 1988
Immunoregulation of cutaneous leishmaniasis. T cell lines that transfer protective immunity or exacerbation belong to different T helper subsets and respond to distinct parasite antigens.
P Scott,
P Scott
Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Bethesda, Maryland 20892.
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P Natovitz,
P Natovitz
Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Bethesda, Maryland 20892.
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R L Coffman,
R L Coffman
Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Bethesda, Maryland 20892.
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E Pearce,
E Pearce
Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Bethesda, Maryland 20892.
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A Sher
A Sher
Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Bethesda, Maryland 20892.
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P Scott
Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Bethesda, Maryland 20892.
P Natovitz
Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Bethesda, Maryland 20892.
R L Coffman
Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Bethesda, Maryland 20892.
E Pearce
Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Bethesda, Maryland 20892.
A Sher
Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Bethesda, Maryland 20892.
Online ISSN: 1540-9538
Print ISSN: 0022-1007
J Exp Med (1988) 168 (5): 1675–1684.
Citation
P Scott, P Natovitz, R L Coffman, E Pearce, A Sher; Immunoregulation of cutaneous leishmaniasis. T cell lines that transfer protective immunity or exacerbation belong to different T helper subsets and respond to distinct parasite antigens.. J Exp Med 1 November 1988; 168 (5): 1675–1684. doi: https://doi.org/10.1084/jem.168.5.1675
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