CD27 expression on CD4+ T cells differentiates effector from regulatory T cell subsets in the lung

DG Mack, AM Lanham, BE Palmer… - The Journal of …, 2009 - journals.aai.org
The Journal of Immunology, 2009journals.aai.org
Beryllium exposure in the workplace can result in chronic beryllium disease, a
granulomatous lung disorder characterized by CD4+ T cell alveolitis and progressive lung
fibrosis. A large number of the CD4+ T cells recruited to the lung in chronic beryllium
disease recognize beryllium in an Ag-specific manner and express Th1-type cytokines
following T cell activation. Beryllium-responsive CD4+ T cells in the bronchoalveolar lavage
(BAL) express an effector memory T cell phenotype and recognize beryllium in a CD28 …
Abstract
Beryllium exposure in the workplace can result in chronic beryllium disease, a granulomatous lung disorder characterized by CD4+ T cell alveolitis and progressive lung fibrosis. A large number of the CD4+ T cells recruited to the lung in chronic beryllium disease recognize beryllium in an Ag-specific manner and express Th1-type cytokines following T cell activation. Beryllium-responsive CD4+ T cells in the bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) express an effector memory T cell phenotype and recognize beryllium in a CD28-independent manner. In this study, we show that the majority of beryllium-responsive CD4+ T cells in BAL have lost CD27 expression, whereas a subset of beryllium-responsive cells in blood retains expression of this costimulatory molecule. In addition, loss of CD27 on BAL CD4+ T cells inversely correlates with markers of lung inflammation. A small population of BAL CD4+ T cells retains CD27 expression, and these CD4+ CD27+ T cells contain the FoxP3-expressing, naturally occurring regulatory T (T reg) cell subset. Coexpression of CD27 and CD25 identifies the majority of FoxP3-expressing T reg cells in blood and BAL, and these cells express potent suppressor function. Taken together, these findings suggest that CD27 is differentially expressed between effector T cells from the inflamed lung and can be used in conjunction with CD25 to isolate T reg cells and assess their functional capacity in an ongoing adaptive immune response in a target organ.
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