Abstract
Tuberculosis is primarily a respiratory disease that is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. M. tuberculosis can persist and replicate in macrophages in vivo, usually in organized cellular structures called granulomas. There is substantial evidence for the importance of CD4 T cells in control of tuberculosis, but the evidence for a requirement for CD8 T cells in this infection has not been proven in humans. However, animal model data support a non-redundant role for CD8 T cells in control of M. tuberculosis infection. In humans, infection with this pathogen leads to generation of specific CD8 T cell responses. These responses include classical (MHC Class I restricted) and non-classical CD8 T cells. Here, we discuss the potential roles of CD8 T cells in defense against tuberculosis, and our current understanding of the wide range of CD8 T cell types seen in M. tuberculosis infection.
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Acknowledgments
We are grateful to Edwin Klein, D.V.M. for contributing the picture of the granuloma seen in Fig. 1. We thank Chelsea Chedrick for assistance with figures. We are grateful to all members of the Flynn and Lin laboratories for their insights and discussion. We acknowledge grant support from NIH (JLF: R01 AI50732, R01 AI37859, R01 HL106804, HL110811, R01 AI105422), the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (PLL and JLF), the Aeras Global TB Foundation (PLL and JLF), and the Otis Fund (Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC Foundation, PLL).
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This article is a contribution to the Special Issue on : CD8+ T-cell Responses against Non-Viral Pathogens - Guest Editors: Fidel Zavala and Imtiaz A. Khan
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Lin, P.L., Flynn, J.L. CD8 T cells and Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. Semin Immunopathol 37, 239–249 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00281-015-0490-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00281-015-0490-8