B Cells Regulate Neutrophilia during Mycobacterium tuberculosis Infection and BCG Vaccination by Modulating the Interleukin-17 Response
Figure 5
B cell-deficient mice, upon ID ear immunization with BCG, display an enhanced neutrophilic infiltration in the pinna and an attenuated Th1 response in the draining superficial cervical lymph nodes that are associated with diminished DC migration.
Ears of wild-type or B cell-deficient mice were vaccinated intradermally with BCG and assessed at the indicated time intervals post-immunization. Cells from the ear and the draining superficial cervical lymph nodes were procured as described in Materials and Methods and subjected to flow cytometric analysis. μMT mice (A) and C57BL/6s depleted of B cells using the 5D2 anti-CD20 mAb (B) exhibited elevated numbers of CD11b+Ly6G+ neutrophils compared to wild-type animals (*p<0.05). Results of flow cytometric analyses showed a diminished number of IFN-γ-producing CD4+ Th1 cells (C) and CD11c+ DC (D) in draining superficial cervical lymph nodes of B cell-deficient μMT mice (relative to wild-type C57BL/6's) that were immunized intradermally in the ear with BCG (1×106 CFU) (*p<0.05). This Th1 (E) and DC migration (F) phenotypes were similarly observed in mice depleted B cells via treatment of the 5D2 anti-CD20 mAb (*p<0.05). Data shown are representative of two to three independent experiments with four mice per group.