Type 1 T-cell responses against intracellular pathogens play a crucial role in mediating protection. We examined whether the induction of a strong type 1 T-cell response during a chronic bacterial infection influences responses to superantigens capable of inducing acute shock. Intravenous infection of mice with Mycobacterium bovis BCG appeared to induce a progressive anergy towards staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB) and towards antigen preparation of BCG (BCG-Ag) itself, based on diminished gamma interferon (IFN-␥) production by SEB-and BCG-Ag-stimulated splenocytes from infected mice. In contrast to these in vitro results, injection of SEB into BCG-infected mice led to a dramatic increase in the serum IFN-␥ levels and the death of infected but not of control mice. In vitro hyporesponsiveness towards SEB and BCG-Ag occurred only with unfractionated splenocyte cultures, as purified T cells from infected mice produced higher levels of IFN-␥. Hyporesponsiveness towards SEB and BCG-Ag in unfractionated splenocyte cultures was not due to suppressive antigen-presenting cells (APCs), as APCs from infected mice stimulated higher levels of IFN-␥ from purified T cells. The diminished IFN-␥ levels observed with bulk splenocytes appear to be due to changes in the T-cell-to-APC ratio that result in a decreased proportion of T cells, coupled to reduced proliferative responses and an increased susceptibility of effector T cells to activation-induced cell death in vitro. Our results indicate that the reported phenomena of T-cell anergy during mycobacterial infection may be an in vitro consequence of the development of a strong type 1 response in vivo.
CD4ϩ -and CD8 ϩ -T-cell activation is important for protection against infectious diseases (23). Under extreme polarizing conditions (such as chronic infections), CD4ϩ T cells differentiate into type 1 (producing interleukin 2 [IL-2] and gamma interferon [IFN-␥]) or type 2 (producing IL-4, IL-5, and IL-13) effectors and, once generated, mediate differential protection depending on the type of pathogen and the strain of mouse used (23). CD8 ϩ T cells, on the other hand, are primarily involved in protection against intracellular pathogens, particularly those that replicate in the cytoplasm of the host cell (38).Mycobacterium bovis BCG is a facultative intracellular bacterium that causes chronic infections in susceptible hosts. In mice, infection with BCG results in the development of splenomegaly in the first 4 weeks of disease, with increased accumulation of splenocytes during that time (25). Infection also leads to the development of a BCG-specific IFN-␥ response at both the CD4 ϩ -and CD8 ϩ -T-cell levels (32). As with other pathogenic mycobacteria, BCG infection has been reported to induce T-cell anergy, particularly at higher bacterial burdens (25).Superantigens hyperstimulate T cells by acting as a bridge between superantigen-restricted V-containing T-cell receptors (TCRs) and major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II molecules, resulting in a high responder frequency a...