| Abstract: | ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Staphylococcus aureus is the major cause of hospital-acquired and community-acquired pneumonia. Host defense to S.aureus infection is largely mediated by the innate immune system. gammadelta T cells play an important role in innate immunity to many infectious diseases. However, less is known about the role of these cells during S.aureus-induced pneumonia. In this study, we examined the response and the role of gammadelta T cells to pulmonary S.aureus infection. RESULTS: Mice infected with S. aureus intranasally showed rapid gammadelta T cells accumulation in the lung. Deficiency of gammadelta T cells led to attenuated bacterial clearance and less tissue damage in lung compared with WT mice. Moreover, TCR-delta/mice exhibited impaired neutrophil recruitment and reduced cytokine production at the site of infection. The gammadelta T cells in response to pulmonary S. aureus infection mainly secreted IL-17 and gammadelta T cells deficiency reduced IL-17 production, which might regulate the production of neutrophil-inducing cytokine/chemokine in the S. aureus-infected lungs CONCLUSIONS: Accumulation of gammadelta T cells in the lungs to S. aureus infection is beneficial for bacteria clearance and also contributes to the tissue damage. These cells were the primary source of IL-17, which might influence the recruitment of neutrophils at the early stage of infection. |
