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Infection and Immunity, March 2004, p. 1504-1511, Vol. 72, No. 3
0019-9567/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/IAI.72.3.1504-1511.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

T Cells in Immunity Induced by Mycobacterium bovis Bacillus Calmette-Guérin Vaccination

Jinhee Lee,¹ Keumhwa Choi,¹ Michael R. Olin,¹ Sang-Nae Cho,² and Thomas W. Molitor^1*

Department of Clinical and Population Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota 55108,¹ Department of Microbiology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 120-752, Korea²

Received 12 June 2003/ Returned for modification 4 September 2003/ Accepted 13 November 2003

Mycobacterium bovis bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccination is efficacious for newborns or adults with no previous exposure to environmental mycobacteria. To determine the relative contribution and the nature of T-cell receptor-positive T cells in newborns, compared to CD4⁺ T cells, in immunity induced by M. bovis BCG vaccination, 4-week-old specific-pathogen-free pigs were vaccinated with M. bovis BCG and monitored by following the T-cell immune responses. A flow cytometry-based proliferation assay and intracellular staining for gamma interferon (IFN-) were used to examine T-cell responses. Pigs were found to mount Th1-like responses to M. bovis BCG vaccination as determined by immunoproliferation and IFN- production. The T-cell lymphoproliferation and IFN- production to stimulation with mycobacterial antigens were significantly enhanced by M. bovis BCG vaccination. The relative number of proliferating T cells after stimulating peripheral blood mononuclear cells with Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv culture filtrate protein was higher than that of CD4⁺ T cells at an early time point after M. bovis BCG vaccination, but CD4⁺ T cells were found to be more abundant at a later time point. Although the T-cell responses were dependent on the presence of CD4⁺ T cells for the cytokine interleukin-2, the enhanced T cells were due to the intrinsic changes of T cells caused by M. bovis BCG vaccination rather than being due solely to help from CD4⁺ T cells. Our study shows that T cells from pigs at early ages are functionally enhanced by M. bovis BCG vaccination and suggests an important role for this T-cell subset in acquired immunity conferred by M. bovis BCG vaccination.

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* Corresponding author. Mailing address: 1365 Gortner Ave., Room 225, Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Saint Paul, MN 55108. Phone: 612 625 5295. Fax: 612 625 6241. E-mail; molit001{at}tc.umn.edu.

Editor: B. B. Finlay

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Infection and Immunity, March 2004, p. 1504-1511, Vol. 72, No. 3
0019-9567/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/IAI.72.3.1504-1511.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

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