Mediterr J Hematol Infect Dis 2014; 6; Open Journal System

MEDITERRANEAN JOURNAL OF HEMATOLOGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES

www.mjhid.org ISSN 2035-3006


Review Article

Immunology of Tuberculosis

Federica Bozzano
1
, Francesco Marras
2
and Andrea De Maria
1,3


1
University of Genova, Italy

2
Istituto G.Gaslini, Genova, Italy

3
IRCCS AOU S.Martino-IST-Genova, Italy


Correspondence to: Andrea De Maria. E-mail: de-maria@unige.it

Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Published: April 7, 2014
Received: January 9, 2014
Accepted: March 8, 2014
Citation: Mediterr J Hematol Infect Dis 2014, 6(1): e2014027, DOI: 10.4084/MJHID.2014.027
This article is available from: http://www.mjhid.org/article/view/12705
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract. MTB ranks as the first worldwide pathogen latently infecting one third of the population
and the second leading cause of death from a single infectious agent, after the human
immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The development of vigorous and apparently appropriate immune
response upon infection with M. tuberculosis in humans and experimental animals conflict with
failure to eradicate the pathogen itself and with its ability to undergo clinical latency from which it
may exit. From a clinical standpoint, our views on MTB infection may take advantage from
updating the overall perspective, that has quite changed over the last decade, following remarkable
advances in our understanding of the manipulation of the immune system by M. tuberculosis and of
the role of innate components of the immune response, including macrophages, neutrophils,
dendritic cells and NK cells in the initial spread of MTB and its exit from latency. Scope of this
review is to highlight the major mechanisms of MTB escape from immune control and to provide a
supplementary translational perspective for the interpretation of innate immune mechanisms with
particular impact on clinical aspects.
Introduction. Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB)
may be regarded as the most successful intracellular
bacterium worldwide, in view of its world prevalence
and distribution. MTB ranks as the second leading
cause of death from a single infectious agent, after the
human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Indeed, about
8.7 million incident cases of pulmonary tuberculosis
(TB) (range, 8.3 million to 9 million), equivalent to
125 cases per 100,000 population, were registered
globally in 2011.
1
Despite availability of
antituberculous drugs for the last 50 years Mth is
responsible for 1.5 million deaths every year with
about one third of the world population having been in
contact and latently infected.
1,2

Since its first characterization by Robert Koch at the
end of the 19
th
century,
3
intense efforts have led to the
characterization of the manifold interactions of M.
tuberculosis with the immune system, to a renewed
study of its metabolism for the identification of new
specific pathways subject to inhibition by new drugs, to
the discovery of the mechanisms it uses to divert host
defences and to the understanding of the broad
spectrum of soluble factors and cells involved in its
control.
Mediterr J Hematol Infect Dis 2014; 6: Open Journal System

Despite relevant advances over the last 20 years in
our understanding of the broad outlines of mechanisms
contributing to protective immunity to M.tuberculosis,
relevant scientific and clinical challenges remain. The
development of vigorous and apparently appropriate
immune response upon infection with M. tuberculosis
in humans and experimental animals conflicts with
failure to eradicate the pathogen itself and with its
ability to undergo clinical latency from which it may
exit causing the bulk of overt clinical tubercular
disease in everyday clinical life. In particular, our
incomplete understanding of mechanisms potentially
allowing complete eradication of M. tuberculosis once
infection has taken place, and of those failing during
latency - thus leading to reactivation of M. tuberculosis
only in a subset (10-15%) of latently infected subjects
4

- represent major hurdles towards effective second-
generation vaccines and targeted treatment of latency.
The classical view of immunity to M. tuberculosis
mainly recognizes participation of macrophages and
cells of the adaptive immune system (CD4+ and CD8+
T lymphocytes) in the control of mycobacteria. From a
clinical standpoint, our views on MTB infection may
take advantage from updating the overall perspective,
that has quite changed over the last decade, following
remarkable advances in our understanding of the
manipulation of the immune system by M. tuberculosis
and of the innate component of the immune response.
Over recent years, it has indeed become clear, that, in
addition to adaptive mechanisms, innate immune
responses are recruited by and against M. tuberculosis
according to the time-frame of response recognizing
early and late events after MTB entry.
The purpose of the present review is not to provide
a comprehensive review of TB immunology, nor to
provide in depth focus on the mechanisms of M.
tuberculosis virulence and pathogenicity which appear
elsewhere
5,6
rather, scope of this review is to highlight
the different actors of the immune response against M.
tuberculosis and the major mechanisms of MTB escape
and to provide a supplementary translational
perspective for the interpretation of innate immune
mechanisms with particular impact on clinical aspects.
Renewed frameworks of interpretation of results from
human and animal research and from clinical
observations will help the updating and understanding
of M. tuberculosis immunopathogenesis and facilitate
the design of new vaccines, drugs and prevention
strategies.

Clinical Correlates of the Immune Response to M.
tuberculosis. Active Tuberculosis (TB) encompasses a
range of clinical presentations and disease courses.
Active TB occurs in two stages, either as the natural
evolution of overwhelming M. tuberculosis replication
following initial infection (Primary or primary-
progressive TB), or resuming after a latent
infection/containment of M. tuberculosis that may last
many years following exposure (post-primary TB or
reactivated TB). Both primary and post-primary TB
occurs in only a minor fraction of those at risk, as a
consequence of several factors that include both innate
and adaptive immune responses. Primary TB is
detected in up to 20% of those exposed to M.
tuberculosis airborne inoculum, and post-primary TB
with reactivation of M. tuberculosis from latency
occurs at a rate of 0.1-0.5% per year with an estimated
5-10% lifetime risk of developing active TB.
4,7
This
heterogeneity of individual responses is associated to
different immunogenotypic characteristics (extending
from innate immune responses to adaptive immune
control of M.tuberculosis) and is highlighted by the
non-human primate model (Cynomolgus macaque,
Macaca fascicularis) of experimental bronchial
inoculation of a fixed MTB inoculum.
8
Here, a whole
spectrum of outcomes and pathological findings were
observed, similar to what occurs after acute infection in
humans. The outcomes of instillation of a defined
inoculum was invariably infection, however the
spectrum of pathology included macaques that
progressed rapidly and succumbed to active disease,
others that developed active disease over a more
chronic course (including one who spontaneously
resolved the infection), and those that displayed no
evidence of disease even though they were clearly
infected and had clinical characteristics similar to latent
TB in humans. The heterogeneity of the host immune
response extends beyond primary TB, and applies
particularly to latent TB in humans -where only
between 20-50% of latent close contacts of TB cases
develop Tubercolin Skin Test (TST) reactions and 1-
2% of these close contacts eventually develop active
TB
9,10
- and to latent TB in cynomolgus macaques.
8,11

Thus, latent TB is reflective of a heterogeneous group
of individuals:
12
a) those who have subclinical disease,
b)those who will progress to primary active disease; c)
those who maintain persistent, lifelong infection;
d)those who temporarily suppress infection but later
develop active TB, possibly as a result of
immunosuppression or some other event (i.e., true
latent infection); e) those who are able -either through
innate or adaptive immunity or the combination-to
effectively clear the pathogen (Figure 1).
Unfortunately, no test is currently available to
differentiate latent from active TB disease, as TST and
interferon gamma-release assays (IGRA) simply report
the presence of specific T cell responses irrespective of
the clinical condition. Furthermore, there is no test to
identify those latently infected individuals who may
progress to active TB or those who have subclinical
Mediterr J Hematol Infect Dis 2014; 6: Open Journal System



Figure 1. Diagram of the clinical courses and immune regulation accompanying exposure to and infection by M.tuberculosis.

disease. Also in this case TST and IGRA do not help
discriminate different clinical courses.
The ability to identify those individuals with latent
TB who are at risk of reactivation would help target
preventative therapy and devise individualized target
treatment thereby increasing adherence and minimizing
toxicity and costs. Using transcriptional profiling of
leukocytes in whole peripheral blood by microarray
analysis, a characteristic neutrophil-driven IFN-
inducible 393 transcript-signature has been identified
in patients with active TB.
13
This transcript signature
disappears by 2 months of effective treatment and
correlates with the extent of radiographic involvement.
Interestingly, 10-20% of patients with TB latency have
a transcript signature similar to those with active
disease. Although not proven yet, these patients might
represent the minority of latent TB who will eventually
progress to active TB years later. Leukocyte or purified
cell population transcriptional analysis - also in other
areas of chronic infections including HCV
14
- is likely
to become a useful future tool to identify the subset of
patients with true latency who will develop post-
primary reactivation and for whom chemoprophylaxis -
or rather treatment - may be mandatory. The precise
labelling of patients with different types of latency
using molecular or immunological tools represents one
of the main future challenges to individualize treatment
of smoldering infection, prophylaxis of true latency
and avoiding unnecessary toxicity for eradicated
infection.

Timing of Immune Responses and Granuloma
Formation. Following the establishment of M.
tuberculosis infection in the airways and lung
parenchyma, the bacilli are believed to be
phagocytosed by the alveolar macrophages
15
and are
taken up by neutrophils
16
and dendritic cells (DCs).
17

Over time, cells progressively assemble in a compact,
organized aggregate of mature macrophages
surrounded by fibroblasts and interspersed with
neutrophils, DCs, Natural Killer cells, B cells, CD4+
and CD8+ T cells. This structure is a granuloma and
has been historically and until recently considered to
represent a concentrated effort of the immune system
to sequester, wall off and eradicate M.tuberculosis.
18,19

Recent evidences have however subverted the classic
view that the granuloma is a host-protective structure.
Indeed, different stages of the immune response to M.
tuberculosis can be recognized, and granulomas are
dynamic structures that are initially exploited by the
bacterium to subvert the immune response, replicate
and spread at other locations.
Innate immune phase-granuloma dynamics. Upon
MTB entry in the airways innate immune responses
Mediterr J Hematol Infect Dis 2014; 6: Open Journal System

predominate. Early granulomas are composed of
inflammatory macrophages, neutrophils and DCs that
progressively accumulate upon recruitment. All the
cells of the early granulomas engulf the mycobacteria
and become infected. Pathogenic mycobacteria such as
M.tubercuolosis and M.marinum in the zebrafish model
have evolved multiple mechanisms to manipulate this
cellular niche to their own advantage. Trafficking and
maturation of phagosomes in which pathogenic
mycobacteria reside is manipulated to prevent
lysosomal killing and degradation.
20
Surprisingly, in
spite of overwhelming infection, macrophages and DCs
in the early granuloma are inefficient in presenting M.
tuberculosis antigens in the early granuloma to CD4+
T-cells.
21
Efficient MTB Antigen (Ag)-presentation
only takes place later in the lymphnode.
22

Mycobacteria, as exemplified by the zebrafish-
M.marinum model, exploit granuloma formation for
their proliferation and dissemination in the infected
host. Dynamic imaging studies reveal that macrophage
move rapidly within granulomas, at speeds comparable
to lymphocytes in a chemokine gradient.
23
Movement
is dictated by the RD1 virulence locus that is
responsible for M. tuberculosis ESX-1 secretion system
(which is lost in attenuated Bacillus Calmette-
Guerin),
24,25
and ceases when macrophages contact
dying infected cells, thereby increasing the number of
infected cells. Also the necrotic core of granuloma,
which was regarded as being not involved in immune
interactions, is crossed by infected and non-infected
macrophages.
21,26
Finally, tertiary lymphoid structures
are found in granulomas in the lungs of mice.
27
Here,
macrophage and T-cell movement resemble those of T
and B cell trafficking in secondary lymphoid
organs,
21,28
and chemokines are produced (CCL19,
CCL21), which are characteristic chemoattractants for
CCR7-bearing lymphocytes homing to lymphoid
structures.
29
Thus, despite macrophage, T-cell and DC
entry into the granuloma in the early phase, these cells
do not leave, and at the same time cannnot proceed to
antigen presentation neither locally nor in lymphnodes.
TNF- vs. MMP-9 in granuloma formation. During
early granuloma formation, TNF has been historically
considered instrumental to granuloma formation and to
increase the ability of macrophage control of
intracellular mycobacteria.
30
This view is however
challenged by the observation that in non-human
primates TNFblockade results in disseminated
disease with normal granuloma structure,
31
and by
similar findings in patients treated with anti-TNF
treatment.
32,33
Indeed in the zebrafish model,
TNF increases pathogenic M.marinum death and its
absence is associated with accelerated and increases
granuloma formation.
34
Rather than TNF, the
mechanism(s) underlying granuloma formation have
been shown to involve induction of host matrix-
metalloprotase-9 (MMP-9) production by macrophages
and epithelial cells upon interaction with RD-1 locus-
encoded, secreted ESAT-6.
25,35
In line with this view,
MMP-9 knockout mice have decreased granuloma
formation and improved control of infection and has
been found to be enriched in tissues and pleural fluid in
human pulmonary TB.
36

Death matters: Apoptosis vs. Necrosis. During early
phases, mycobacterial load is rapidly rising through
granuloma formation with influx and infection of
neutrophils and macrophages and cell death. While
necrosis, with cell lysis, propagates locally viable
mycobacteria and increases pathogen load,
programmed cell-death or apoptosis maintains intact
cellular membranes favoring cellular
compartmentalization and mycobacterial
containment.
37,38
The type of cell death that is induced
depends on the regulation of the lipid mediator
eicosanoids prostaglandin E2 (PGE2, proapoptotic) and
lipoxin A4 (LXA4, pronecrotic).
39
Differences in
eicosanoid pathway activity and regulation may
contribute to inter individual differences in cross-
presentation of M. tuberculosis by Dendritic Cells
(DC), thus affecting also adaptive immune differences
and the clinical evolution from infection to primary
disease or to true latency.
40
Neutrophils support M.
tuberculosis replication and spread
16,41
and may have
dual roles in the early defense against the pathogen.
Activation of antigen-specific CD4+ T cells is
facilitated by neutrophils,
42
however inhibition of
neutrophil apoptosis by MTB determines their delayed
activation.
43

Therefore early - and sometimes late - granuloma
formation does not wall off mycobacteria. The view
of a mechanical containment in granulomas following
TNF induction is being replaced with a new
perspective indicating that granuloma formation is
induced by pathogenic mycobacteria through
mechanism(s) including ESAT-6-induced
25
MMP-9
production.
35
Thus early granulomas favor increased
macrophage accumulation, mycobacterial replication,
and systemic MTB spread. Even adoptive transfer of
Ag-specific CD4+ T cells shows that in this phase of
the infection Mycobacteria are secluded in a protected
niche within the granuloma
44
and that intervention
should target innate immune events (including anti-
MMP-9
45
or pro-apoptotic treatments), that
predominate during the early phase but that persist also
in later equilibrium phases of the infection.
Overall, therefore, the early stages of
antimycobacterial immune responses are dominated by
innate immune responses that have little immediate
antimycobacterial effect and rather favor its spread and
replication. The subsequent adaptive phase however
Mediterr J Hematol Infect Dis 2014; 6: Open Journal System

builds on initial innate responses, which are eventually
needed for antigen presentation and editing of adaptive
responses.

Adaptive Responses and Immune Equilibrium. The
relatively small proportion of patients that progress to
primary TB following infection by M. tuberculosis and
of those that upon acquiring latent infection progress to
post-primary disease should be regarded as a success of
host defenses, even if latency consists in arrest of
bacterial growth, not in bacterial sterilization.
The prominent characteristic of specific
antimycobacterial adaptive responses is the long delay
in onset and the need for their continuous persistence
and effort to maintain latency. Adaptive responses are
relevant to containment and control of MTB
replication, involve IFN--producing or poly-functional
(IL-2, IFN- and TNF) CD4+ and CD8+ T
lymphocytes. Adaptive responses are delayed in the
early granuloma, and ultimately rely on the
presentation of specific mycobacterial antigens by
DCs, under editing, control and help by NKT and NK
cells.
46,47
Initiation of the adaptive response begins in
lymphnodes, where infected DC traffic after initial
delay and persistence in peripheral tissues (alveoli and
lung tissue) where even 100-fold higher bacterial
concentrations are found.
22,48
Further local delay in
lung adaptive responses to M. tuberculosis is due to the
influx of pathogen-specific CD4+ regulatory T cells
generated in lymphnodes ad migrating to the tissue
49
,
and by the direct inhibition of apoptosis by M.
tuberculosis in infected neutrophils.
43
Regulatory
CD4+ T cells (Treg) are generated in lymphnodes
together with Th1 (T helper 1) CD4+ T cells in the
early phase of adaptive responses, and are responsible
for failure to eradicate M. tuberculosis in the long run,
as shown by adoptive transfer in the mice model
50
. In
addition to the presence of Treg CD4+ T cells, also the
expression of PD-1 on Ag-specific CD4+ T cells is a
factor favoring M. tuberculosis persistence and survival
once latency has been established in the mice model.
51

Overall, however, survival to M. tuberculosis relies on
the presence of CD4+ T cells which play a fundamental
role in inhibiting its replication and protect from active
disease. Indeed CD4 lymphopenic patients with or
without HIV infection are at increased risk of
developing active TB.
52
Although CD4+ T
lymphocytes have been considered to be the primary
source of IFN- and to be protective through its
secretion, this is not the case. CD4+ T cell depletion
induces disease in mice while leaving unchanged lung
tissue levels of IFN-.
53
and conversely, IFN-
deficiency still allows protection
54
. In mice and human
models it appears that CD4+ T cells per se, rather than
their production of IFN- may be protective. High IFN-
levels in lung tissue and granuloma may be attributed
to Ag-specific CD8+ T cells which produce IFN- and
TNF- and are involved in the control of
M.tuberculosis,
55
and to NK cells, that are the main
IFN- producers involved in DC maturation and
editing.
56
HLA-E-dependent presentation of peptides to
human CD8+ T cells may be also involved in the
control of M. tuberculosis and has been found to
comprise a dominant immune response in latently
infected patients.
57
Additional support for CD8+ T cell
involvement in the control of M. tuberculosis is
provided by the mycobacteriostatic effect of granulysin
in CD8+ CTL granules
58,59
and by disseminated
infection in mice lacking HLA class I presentation
pathways (e.g.2-microglobulin, transporter associated
with antigen processing, TAP).
60-62


TB Reactivation. One of the most obscure areas in our
understanding of the relationship of the immune system
with M. tuberculosis is represented by the clinical
transition from latency to post-primary TB. Factors
underlying this transition are so far only partially
understood, and there is no understanding of the
precise mechanism(s) that induce transition to
reactivation from a dormant state. Knowledge of these
mechanism(s) would be of crucial importance, since
this would allow i) identification and
prophylactic/therapeutic targeting of the minority of
patients with latent TB that will actually progress to
reactivation, thus avoiding unnecessary potentially
toxic and costly courses of chemoprophylaxis
administered to those who would never need it in a
lifetime; ii) monitoring and prediction of the exact
moment when M. tuberculosis would exit latency in
these patients and iii) devise immune
intervention/vaccination strategies to boost immune
control of M. tuberculosis of this selected minority of
patients.
Although it has been held for a long time that the
merit for latency persistance should be attributed to the
immune system, evidences accumulated in the last
years point out that also M. tuberculosis actively
participates to this process. M. tuberculosis activates a
bacterial regulon controlled by the DosR-DosS signal
transduction system in the presence of local hypoxia,
carbon monoxide or nitric oxide.
63,64
In the presence of
these stimuli, which are believed to be prevalent during
latency, M. tuberculosis activates the expression of a
set of genes allowing the use of alternative energy
sources. Within this program, it expresses genes whose
products are recognized by T cells. The regulation of
this set of genes during latency and the shut off of the
transcriptional program that is active during the
replicative active phase of M. tuberculosis life cycle
implies that specific mycobacterial epitopes become
Mediterr J Hematol Infect Dis 2014; 6: Open Journal System

available during latency while others may disappear
and no longer be recognized.
65,66

M. tuberculosis encodes two additional gene
clusters that are involved in exit from latency, whose
regulation contributes to determine the outcome of
infection. Five encoded proteins resemble the
resuscitation-promoting factor (Rpf) produced by M.
luteus to recover from nutrient-starved latent phase.
67

Deletion of Rpf-like genes of M. tuberculosis impairs
mycobacterium recovery from latency
68,69
in a mice
model. Interestingly, double RpfAB knockouts have a
different interaction with innate immune mechanisms
and induce higher amounts of TNF and IL-6 in
infected macrophages. Rpf-like gene products therefore
provide a clockwork for exit from latency and also a
system to modulate innate responses thus favouring
mycobacterial growth. Finally, an 88 toxin-antitoxin
gene pair system is also encoded by M. tuberculosis
and its transcription is involved in the decision to
maintain latency or progress to overt replication and
virulence.
70

In view of the above data, shedding further light on
the fine-tuning mechanisms employed by M.
tuberculosis to regulate its access to and exit from
latency represents a crucial step with relevant clinical
and immune bearing. Immunoprophylactic prevention
of exit from latency may, for example, require different
antigen and epitope-targeting compared to those
encoded by pathogenic replicating bacteria during
primary invasion. Also, targeting of some of these
transcripts/proteins may provide new tools for
antibacterial treatment of early reactivation.
In general, exit from latency into post-primary TB
is regarded as a so far poorly characterized
consequence of immune weakening, and represents
and event that is not predictable according the when,
who, and where questions. As mentioned above,
among any cohort of latently infected subjects it is
impossible to predict who will fall in the 10% that
eventually will experience reactivation, when this will
take place or where the escape from immune control
and exit from M. tuberculosis latency program will
eventually occur (although this will occur in the lungs
in 85% of the cases due to the high mycobacterial
burden in this site).
Regardless of bacterial virulence factors involved in
latency exit, two specific well characterized
mechanisms are known to increase the likelihood of
reactivation. The first involves quantitative and
qualitative depletion of CD4+ T cells, while the other
is represented by impairment of TNF signaling.
Immune deficiencies leading to CD4+ T cell loss,
including HIV-1 infection, are associated to increased
risk of M. tuberculosis reactivation
71
. The risk of TB
reactivation during HIV is associated not only to
quantitative defects of CD4+ T-cell counts, since many
patients develop TB and AIDS well before CD4+ T-
cell counts decrease below 350-200/l. Selective
targeting of TB-specific CD4+ T-cells, functional
derangement of CD4+ T cells with skewing of
polyfunctionality (IFN-,TNF and IL-2 production) or
skewing of cytokine production patterns have been
advocated.
72,73,74-77
No precise CD4-associated
mechanism has been so far pinpointed, however, to
explain how CD4+ T cells accomplish control of M.
tuberculosis in some patients but fail in others. With
regard to TNF, it has been well established that
neutralization of TNF particularly in the context of
monoclonal antibody treatment,
78,79
dramatically
increases the chances of TB reactivation. In vitro,
TNF production and signaling in monocytes controls
M. tuberculosis replication,
34
as also shown with
comparative use of RpfAB knockouts and wildtype
strains in vitro.
68

Additional mechanisms have been suggested to be
involved in the exit from latency, such as programmed
death receptors and ligands (PD-1/PD-L1). Increased
blood expression of PD-L1 occurs during active TB
and is predominantly due to its expression by
neutrophils.
80
In addition, PD-1 expression is
associated with different functional profiles in CD8+
antigen specific CTLs in active and latent TB
81
, thus
suggesting different functional predominance in the
two conditions, and the crosstalk between innate and
adaptive elements of the immune response. The ability
to modulate gene expression and to shift antigenic
expression during overt replication and latency may
represent one of the mechanisms of evasion from the
control by the host immune responses. The expression
of different gene products during specific and different
phases of the disease course may represent a
mechanism for mycobacterial evasion from CD4- and
CD8-specific T cell responses. For example, ESAT-6
and Ag85B represent major antigenic targets for CD4+
and CD8+ T cells and are actively expressed during
overt infection. However, M. tuberculosis
downregulates their expression as soon as specific
CD4+ T cells appear in the mouse model, thus favoring
the persistence of the pathogen.
82,83

Altogether the increased frequency of TB
reactivation in CD4 depleted patients (e.g. HIV-
-blocking
treatments provide evidence that these represent two
major elements contributing to persistent and
successful control of M. tuberculosis replication and
should be regarded as a correlate of efficient pathogen
control. Since they represent respectively adaptive and
innate arms of host anti-infective defenses, it is
tempting to consider that exit from latency into overt
disease may be due to modulation of either arm, and
Mediterr J Hematol Infect Dis 2014; 6: Open Journal System

possibly through as yet poorly acknowledged
pathways.

Involvement of NK Cells in Early and Late Events
Affecting Individual Disease Course. The attention
on early innate events leading to permissive granuloma
formation, and the subsequent development of a highly
effective control of M. tuberculosis has so far
concentrated on crucial events in monocytes,
macrophages, neutrophils and dendritic cells. NK cell
involvement has been left out of focus despite
accumulating evidences of their involvement in the
path of innate mechanisms leading to CD8+ and CD4+
adaptive responses. Several lines of evidence point to
NK cell involvement at several steps along the path of
control - or lack thereof - of M. tuberculosis replication
and spread during primary seeding, in the control/exit
from latency, and contributing to the immune response
to vaccination and to innate resistance to infection.
This paragraph is aimed at putting these aspects in
frame.
Not only CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, but also NK cells
have been shown to play a crucial role in killing of M.
tuberculosis in human monocytes through production
of IFN-.
84
In the RAG(-/-)T-cell deficient mouse
model M. tuberculosis stimulates NK-cell dependent
IFN- production in naive spleen and lung cells, and
NK cell-knockout or anti-IFN--treated animals display
dramatically increased susceptibility.
85

NK cell may interact specifically with both infected
macrophages and directly with mycobacteria through
multiple receptors, thus anticipating a direct NK cell
involvement in the recognition of mycobacteria upon
entry in the lung tissue and throughout later events
contributing to the generation of adaptive responses.
The most physiologically crucial direct interplay of
mycobacteria with NK cells is represented by the
interaction with TLR2 (Toll-Like Receptor 2)
86

possibly via binding to peptidoglycan.
87
A direct
contact of mycobacterial mycolic acids and
arabinogalactan with NK cell-triggering natural
cytotoxicity receptor NKp44 has also been
suggested.
87,88
More importantly, mycobacteria-
infected macrophages are directly recognized and lysed
by NK cells via NKG2D and NKp46 that recognize
ULBP1 and vimentin whose expression on
macrophages is upregulated upon infection.
89-91
BCG-
exposed macrophages (M0 and M2) in addition induce
strong activation of resting NK cells in vitro leading to
their production of IFN- and to cytotoxic activity
induction.
92
Overall, IFN- is produced not only by Ag-
specific CD4+ T cells during late events accompanying
establishment of adaptive immune responses, but also
by NK cells together with TNF- - throughout early
and later events after mycobacterial entry and
spread
93,94
and also maturing NK cells may contribute
to BCG-induced immune responses with IFN-
production.
95

NK cells positively modulate adaptive immune
responses against mycobacteria, and thus contribute to
the mechanisms that ultimately lead to control of M.
tuberculosis replication through influx of antigen-
specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cells in areas of M.
tuberculosis replication in macrophages. This is
accomplished via induction of maturation of immature
dendritic cells (iDC), reciprocal activation of NK cells
by infected iDC with selection of optimally mature DC
by NK cells.
46,56
In addition, NK cells interacting
through CD40L with Ag-specific CD8+ CTL also
contribute to CD8+ CTL killing of infected
macrophages and to their IFN- production
96
and to
direct control of M. tuberculosis growth.
97
Finally, lysis
of FoxP3+CD4+ Treg by NK cells
98
provides an
additional role played by these cells in the control of
mycobacterial replication and spread thus dynamically
counteracting the influx of CD4+ Treg cells in the
granuloma that prevent early clearance of M.
tuberculosis.
50

Negative regulatory mechanisms for NK cell
function with regard to M. tuberculosis infection have
been described by the possibility to express de novo
PD-1 and PD-L, thus dampening their activity.
99
In
addition, induction of CD1d on mycobacteria-infected
monocytes negatively modulates NK cell triggering
and induction of monocyte apoptosis and M.
tuberculosis killing through interaction with inhibitory
receptors expressed on NK cells.
100,101
Finally, escape
from NK cell-induced killing/apoptosis and of
mycobacterial killing may occur in M2 monocytes.
92

The spectrum of different mechanisms that may
cause NK cell intervention during M. tuberculosis
invasion and possibly during latency, and the array of
mechanisms that negatively balance NK cell anti-
mycobacterial function suggest that interindividual
differences in the regulation of NK cells may
contribute, in addition to other innate and adaptive
variability, to the wide differences in clinical courses
commonly observed after acute infection and in exit
from latency in humans and in non-human primate
models.
8
In addition to be recruited to and detected in
lung tissue granulomas of TB patients, NK cells show
dramatic interindividual differences in IFN and TNF
production in healthy donors with up to 1000-fold
variation upon BCG or H37Rv challenge.
94
Thus,
modulation of NK cell function, either inherent or
acquired through exogenous factors, may underlie
differences in clinical courses and thus help explain
and possibly predict the disease course. While the
majority of latently infected individuals will never
experience reactivation, a fraction of patients develops
Mediterr J Hematol Infect Dis 2014; 6: Open Journal System

re-activation through as yet poorly understood
mechanisms.
12
In this regard, regulation of NK cell
function and receptor expression modulation could
contribute to determine exit from latency. Indeed,
patients with TB at reactivation have dramatically
decreased expression of NKp30 and NKp46 natural
cytotoxicity receptors.
102
These receptors are involved
respectively in DC recognition/DC editing with
downstream shaping of adaptive responses and in the
recognition of infected macrophages.
46,47,90,92,103

Accordingly, decreased NCR (NKp46, NKp30)
expression at reactivation is accompanied by relevant
decreases in NK cell cytotoxicity and defective IFN
production upon activation in vitro.
102
With specific
treatment, TB patients fully recovering clinically
display a transcriptional signature of improvement in
their PBMC,
13
recover NK cell IFN production, but do
not recover NKp30 and NKp46 expression.
102

Specific functional skewing of other cells or
molecules of the innate immune system are likely to
play significant roles in this context. The recent finding
that TLR-2 and TLR-9 polymorphisms are associated
to an increased risk of TB in different populations
104,105

possibly due to attenuation of receptor signalling
89,106

coupled with the expression and relevance of these two
TLRs also for NK cell activation
86,107,108
suggests that
multiple non-mutually exclusive mechanisms may
contribute the events that lead to exit from latency in
infected individuals. Therefore, both acquired
environmental factors as well as inherent HLA-
unrelated (e.g.:triggering receptor expression-NCR
modulation) and HLA-related (e.g. inhibitory receptor-
KIR-carriage/expression) mechanisms are likely to
influence NK cell function and their contribution to the
decreased innate immune surveillance during exit from
latency.

Conclusion. An increasingly focused picture of the
early events leading to disease progression or
establishment of latency has been provided in recent
years by the investigation of innate immune
mechanism(s) involving macrophages, neutrophils,
DCs and NK cells, by the development of advanced
animal models and by translational research in human
disease addressing key questions on immune correlates
of M. tuberculosis infection.
All the components of innate immune responses
provide relevant contributions to the control of M.
tuberculosis by antigen-specific adaptive T cell
responses. The knowledge of these mechanism(s) will
allow future development of vaccination strategies,
monitoring of vaccine efficacy in selected individuals
with specific innate immune response patterns, and in
the identification of the minority of latently infected
individuals who will develop reactivation post-primary
disease.

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