Journal of Cell Science & Therapy
Open Access

Polyfunctional Mycobacterium tuberculosis-specific effector memory CD4+ T cells at sites of pleural TB

International Conference on Emerging Cell Therapies

October 1-3, 2012 DoubleTree by Hilton Chicago-North Shore, USA

Laila El Fenniri

Accepted Abstracts: J Cell Sci Ther

Abstract :

P l eural tuberculosis (TB) is a common presentation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) infection, and despite spontaneous resolution remains a strong risk factor for reactivation pulmonary TB in a majority of individuals. This study was undertaken to further understand the characteristics of immune cells at sites of pleural TB. A significant shift toward memory CD4+ cells with an effector phenotype and away from na�ve CD4+ T cells in pleural fluid as compared to blood mononuclear cells was found. These data suggest that effector T cells are capable of migrating to sites of active TB infection and/or the differentiation to effector phenotype T cells in situ is highly amplified. Using multi-parameter flowcytometry analysis, a significant portion of MTB-specific CD4+ T cells in the pleural space were polyfunctional demonstrating two, three or four simultaneous functions including IFN-gamma, IL-2, TNF-alpha, and or MIP-1 alpha production. A greater proportion of these polyfunctional cells were of effector memory rather than central memory phenotype. The role of these polyfunctional MTB-specific CD4+ T cells at sites of pleural TB requires further study