Inflammatory response following intranasal infection with Mycobacterium avium complex: role of T-cell subsets and gamma interferon.

The role of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells in the response to intranasal infection with a Mycobacterium avium complex isolate (MAC) was investigated. Depletion of CD4+ T cells by injected antibody exacerbated infection in the lung, spleen, and liver. There were decreased numbers of inflammatory cells in the lungs of CD4-depleted mice and a significant decrease in lung cytotoxic activity. The neutrophil response was unaffected, and in CD4-depleted mice, unlike intact infected mice, these cells were found with large numbers of associated MAC. Purified CD4+ splenic T cells produced gamma interferon (IFN-gamma) in vitro in response to MAC antigen. IFN-gamma production by cultured spleen, lung, or mediastinal lymph node cells was markedly reduced in CD4-depleted mice. In contrast, CD8+ T cells did not produce IFN-gamma in vitro, and depletion of CD8+ T cells from infected mice had no effect on bacterial growth or lung cell activation. Depletion of IFN-gamma by injected monoclonal antibody had effects similar to those of CD4 depletion, namely, exacerbation of infection and decreased lung cell cytotoxicity. We conclude that CD4+ T cells are the main T cells involved in the lung response to MAC infection and that this response is at least partially dependent on the production of IFN-gamma.