Detection of peripheral CD14+ CD277+ monocyte-macrophage ratio with γδ TCR tetramer and analysis of its relationship with treatment outcome

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the role of peripheral CD14+ monocyte-macrophages in the recognition of phosphorylated antigen by γδ T cells and its relationship with treatment outcome. Methods: Three kinds of γδ TCR tetramers were used to stain PBMC collected from patients with tuberculosis (TB) and neonatal umbilical cord blood samples. The proportions of various TB-specific antigen presenting cells (APC) in peripheral blood were analyzed, and their relationships with treatment outcome were assessed based upon clinical data. Results: CD14+ monocyte-macrophages both in tuberculosis patients′ peripheral blood and neonatal umbilical cord blood were the strongest binding cells to CD277 antibody and γδ TCR tetramers. The median (P50) of CD14+ monocyte-macrophages reached the highest peak after taking anti-tuberculosis treatment for about one month and patients′ condition was improved obviously during this period. Conclusion: This study elucidated that CD14+ monocyte-macrophages accounted for the largest proportion of APC when γδ T cells recognized phosphorylated antigens, which provided reference data for further study on the mechanism of γδ T cells restrictively recognizing phosphorylated antigen and their significance in innate and adaptive immunity.