Increased gamma-delta T-lymphocyte response to Mycobacterium bovis BCG in major histocompatibility complex class I-deficient mice.

Mice with a homologous deletion of the beta 2-microglobulin gene (beta 2m-) are deficient in class I major histocompatibility complex molecules (MHC) and consequently are deficient in CD8+ T cells. These beta 2m- mutant mice control the intraperitoneal growth of an avirulent vaccine strain of mycobacteria, Mycobacterium bovis BCG, after intraperitoneal infection similarly to normal mice. We show that beta 2m- mice have an increased gamma-delta (gamma delta) T-cell response after infection with live avirulent mycobacteria. beta 2m- mice have an earlier and more sustained rise in the proportion of intraperitoneal gamma delta T cells, averaging 17% of T cells, compared with 6% in normal mice, at 28 days after infection. Compared with the population in normal mice, gamma delta T cells in the spleens of beta 2m- mice averaged a higher proportion of the total T-cell population of the spleen on days 5, 8, and 14 after intraperitoneal infection. These data document the kinetics of gamma delta T cells reactive to mycobacterial antigens in vivo without class I MHC restriction and support a role for class I MHC and CD8+ T cells in the in vivo regulation of gamma delta T cells.