Antigen-specific CD8+ T cells and the development of central memory during Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection

Whether true memory T cells develop in the face of chronic infection such as tuberculosis remains controversial. To address this question, we studied CD8(+) T cells specific for the Mycobacterium tuberculosis ESAT6-related Ags TB10.3 and TB10.4. The shared epitope TB10.3/10.4(20-28) is presented by H-2 K-d, and 20-30% of the CD8(+) T cells in the lungs of chronically infected mice are specific for this Ag following respiratory infection with M. tuberculosis. These TB10.3/10.4(20-28)-specific CD8(+) T cells produce IFN-gamma and TNF and express CD107 on their cell surface, which indicates their likely role as CTL in vivo. Nearly all of the Ag-specific CD8(+) T cells in the lungs of chronically infected mice had a T effector cell phenotype based on their low expression of CD62L and CD45RB. In contrast, a population of TB10.3/10.4(20-28)-specific CD8(+) T cells was identified in the lymphoid organs that express high levels of CD62L and CD45RB. Antibiotic treatment to resolve the infection led to a contraction of the Ag-specific CD8(+) T cell population and was accompanied by an increase in the proportion of CD8(+) T cells with a central memory phenotype. Finally, challenge of memory-immune mice with M. tuberculosis was accompanied by significant expansion of TB10.3/10.4(20-28)-specific CD8(+) T cells, which suggests that these cells are in fact functional memory T cells.