Antigen-specific CD4+ T cells promote monocyte recruitment and differentiation into glycolytic lung macrophages to control Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

ABSTRACT: Although lung myeloid cells provide an intracellular niche for Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), CD4+ T cells limit Mtb growth in these cells to protect the host. The CD4+ T cell activities including interferon-γ (IFN-γ) production that account for this protection are poorly understood. Using intravenous antibody labeling and lineage-tracing reporter mice, we show that monocyte-derived macrophages (MDMs), rather than phenotypically similar monocytes or dendritic cells, are preferentially infected with Mtb in murine lungs. MDMs were recruited to the lungs by Mtb-specific CD4+ T cells via IFN-γ, which promoted the extravasation of monocyte precursors from the blood. It was possible that CD4+ T cells recruited infectable MDMs because these cells are uniquely poised to receive cognate MHCII-me

SUBMITTER: Becker SH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12193047 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature