Early and opposing neutrophil and CD4 T cell responses shape pulmonary tuberculosis pathology.

ABSTRACT: Pulmonary Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection results in a variety of heterogeneous lesion structures, from necrotic granulomas to alveolitis, but the mechanisms regulating their development remain unclear. Using a mouse model of concomitant immunity and subsequent aerosol infection, we demonstrate that counter regulation between neutrophils and CD4 T cells occurs very early during infection and governs these distinct pathologies. In primary Mtb infection, a dysregulated feed-forward circuit of neutrophil recruitment occurs, in which neutrophils hinder CD4 T cell interactions with infected macrophages, cause granuloma necrosis, and establish a replicative niche that drives a two-log increase in lung bacterial burden. Conversely, the rapid recruitment and activation of T cells due to

SUBMITTER: Gern BH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12309470 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature