Evaluation of gamma-delta T cells as effector lymphocytes and antigen-presenting cells in prophylaxis and immunotherapy against tuberculosis with DNA vaccines

• Grant number: 06/05963-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: February 01, 2007
• End date: January 31, 2010
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Immunology - Applied Immunology
• Principal Investigator: Celio Lopes Silva
• Grantee: Carlos Rodrigo Zarate Blades
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto (FMRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil

Abstract

It is a public health priority the development of a novel vaccine and new therapeutic agents against Tuberculosis (TB) due to the enormous impact of this pathology worldwide (WHO, 2005). In this sense, we work in a DNA vaccine encoding the 65 kDa heat shock protein of Mycobacterium leprae (DNA-HSP65) and various reports of our laboratory had shown that this vaccine has prophylactic (Lowrie et al., 1997; Bonato et al., 1998; Silva et al., 1999; Silva, 2004) and therapeutic effects against experimental TB (Lowrie et al., 1999; Bonato et al., 2004). The characterization of the mechanisms that explains these effects are the new objectives of our group, aiming the optimization of vaccine formulation and its clinic application. These goals will be accomplished through a detailing knowledge of the role and relevance of the different elements of immune response. Therefore, the study of non-well characterized cell types is particularly important. In this sense, previous results of our laboratory showed the importance of gamma-delta T lymphocytes for the transfer of protective immunity from DNA-HSP65 immunized animals to non-immunized mice in experimental TB (Silva et al., 1994). Moreover, the performance of T cells bearing the gamma-delta receptor with characteristic properties of antigen presenting cells (APCs) has been recently described (Brandes et al., 2005). This unexpected function of these cells claims for new studies detailing this behavior. Considering all these elements, the project has the objective of characterize human and murine gamma-delta T cells in response to DNA-vaccine stimulation and the functions of these cells as effector lymphocytes and APCs. We intend to study the behavior of gamma-delta lymphocytes during the prophylaxis and the treatment of experimental TB with DNA-vaccines. This work aims to be useful to the knowledge of the pathology and to contribute with new perspectives in vaccinolgy and immunotherapy areas.

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

ZARATE-BLADES, CARLOS R.; RODRIGUES, RODRIGO F.; SOUZA, PATRICIA R. M.; RIOS, WENDY M.; SOARES, LUANA S.; ROSADA, ROGERIO S.; BRANDAO, IZAIRA T.; MASSON, ANA PAULA; FLORIANO, ELAINE M.; RAMOS, SIMONE G.; et al. Evaluation of the overall IFN-gamma and IL-17 pro-inflammatory responses after DNA therapy of tuberculosis. HUMAN VACCINES & IMMUNOTHERAPEUTICS, v. 9, n. 5, p. 1093-1103, MAY 1 2013. (06/05963-8)