Heterogeneity of multifunctional IL-17A producing S. Typhi-specific CD8+ T cells in volunteers following Ty21a typhoid immunization

PLoS One. 2012;7(6):e38408. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0038408. Epub 2012 Jun 5.

Abstract

Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi (S. Typhi), the causative agent of typhoid fever, continues to cause significant morbidity and mortality world-wide. CD8+ T cells are an important component of the cell mediated immune (CMI) response against S. Typhi. Recently, interleukin (IL)-17A has been shown to contribute to mucosal immunity and protection against intracellular pathogens. To investigate multifunctional IL-17A responses against S. Typhi antigens in T memory subsets, we developed multiparametric flow cytometry methods to detect up to 6 cytokines/chemokines (IL-10, IL-17A, IL-2, interferon-γ (IFN-γ), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and macrophage inflammatory protein-1β (MIP-1β)) simultaneously. Five volunteers were immunized with a 4 dose regimen of live-attenuated S. Typhi vaccine (Ty21a), peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were isolated before and at 11 time points after immunization, and CMI responses were evaluated. Of the 5 immunized volunteers studied, 3 produced detectable CD8+ T cell responses following stimulation with S. Typhi-infected autologous B lymphoblastoid cell lines (B-LCL). Additionally, 2 volunteers had detectable levels of intracellular cytokines in response to stimulation with S. Typhi-infected HLA-E restricted cells. Although the kinetics of the responses differed among volunteers, all of the responses were bi- or tri-phasic and included multifunctional CD8+ T cells. Virtually all of the IL-17A detected was derived from multifunctional CD8+ T cells. The presence of these multifunctional IL-17A+ CD8+ T cells was confirmed using an unsupervised analysis program, flow cytometry clustering without K (FLOCK). This is the first report of IL-17A production in response to S. Typhi in humans, indicating the presence of a Tc17 response which may be important in protection. The presence of IL-17A in multifunctional cells co-producing Tc1 cytokines (IL-2, IFN-γ and TNF-α) may also indicate that the distinction between Tc17 and Tc1 responses in humans is not as clearly delineated as suggested by in vitro experiments and animal models.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / metabolism*
  • Cells, Cultured
  • Flow Cytometry
  • Humans
  • Immunization
  • Interferon-gamma / metabolism
  • Interleukin-10 / metabolism
  • Interleukin-17 / immunology*
  • Interleukin-17 / metabolism
  • Interleukin-2 / metabolism
  • Kinetics
  • Salmonella typhi / immunology
  • T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic / immunology
  • Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / metabolism
  • Typhoid-Paratyphoid Vaccines / therapeutic use

Substances

  • Interleukin-17
  • Interleukin-2
  • Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha
  • Typhoid-Paratyphoid Vaccines
  • Interleukin-10
  • Interferon-gamma