This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Reprints and Permissions Copyright Information Books from ASM Press MicrobeWorld Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by de Vallière, S. Articles by Hoft, D. F. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by de Vallière, S. Articles by Hoft, D. F. Pubmed/NCBI databases Substance via MeSH Medline Plus Health Information Tuberculosis

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Infection and Immunity, October 2005, p. 6711-6720, Vol. 73, No. 10
0019-9567/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/IAI.73.10.6711-6720.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Enhancement of Innate and Cell-Mediated Immunity by Antimycobacterial Antibodies

S. de Vallière,¹ G. Abate,¹ A. Blazevic,¹ R. M. Heuertz,^1,2 and D. F. Hoft^1,2*

Department of Internal Medicine,¹ Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Saint Louis University Health Science Center, St. Louis, Missouri²

Received 27 April 2005/ Returned for modification 18 May 2005/ Accepted 15 July 2005

We investigated the ability of human antibodies induced by Mycobacterium bovis bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccination to protect against mycobacterial infections. Serum samples containing mycobacterium-specific antibodies were obtained from volunteers who had received two intradermal BCG vaccinations 6 months apart. Significant increases in lipoarabinomannan (LAM)-specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) were detected after both the primary and booster vaccinations. Effects of mycobacterium-specific antibodies on surface binding and internalization of BCG by neutrophils and monocytes/macrophages were studied, using green fluorescent protein (gfp)-expressing BCG. Surface-bound gfp-expressing BCG were distinguished from intracellular BCG by surface labeling with LAM-specific monoclonal antibody. Internalization of BCG by phagocytic cells was shown to be significantly enhanced in postvaccination serum samples. Furthermore, the inhibitory effects of neutrophils and monocytes/macrophages on mycobacterial growth were significantly enhanced by BCG-induced antibodies. The growth-inhibiting effects of postvaccination sera were reversed by preabsorption of IgG with Protein G. Finally, the helper effects of antimycobacterial antibodies for the induction of cell-mediated immune responses were investigated. BCG-induced antibodies significantly enhanced proliferation and gamma interferon production in mycobacterium-specific CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cells, as well as the proportion of proliferating and degranulating CD8⁺ T cells. We conclude that mycobacterium-specific antibodies are capable of enhancing both innate and cell-mediated immune responses to mycobacteria.

---

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Division of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, Saint Louis University Health Science Center, 3635 Vista Ave, FDT-8N, St. Louis, MO 63110. Phone: (314) 577-8648. Fax: (314) 771-3816. E-mail: hoftdf{at}slu.edu.

Editor: J. D. Clements

---

Infection and Immunity, October 2005, p. 6711-6720, Vol. 73, No. 10
0019-9567/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/IAI.73.10.6711-6720.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Crane, D. D., Warner, S. L., Bosio, C. M. (2009). A Novel Role for Plasmin-Mediated Degradation of Opsonizing Antibody in the Evasion of Host Immunity by Virulent, but Not Attenuated, Francisella tularensis. J. Immunol. 183: 4593-4600 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Saito, K., Ait-Goughoulte, M., Truscott, S. M., Meyer, K., Blazevic, A., Abate, G., Ray, R. B., Hoft, D. F., Ray, R. (2008). Hepatitis C Virus Inhibits Cell Surface Expression of HLA-DR, Prevents Dendritic Cell Maturation, and Induces Interleukin-10 Production. J. Virol. 82: 3320-3328 [Abstract] [Full Text]