Host defense against oral microbiota by bone-damaging T cells

Masayuki Tsukasaki, Noriko Komatsu, Kazuki Nagashima, Takeshi Nitta, Warunee Pluemsakunthai, Chisa Shukunami, Yoichiro Iwakura, Tomoki Nakashima, Kazuo Okamoto and Hiroshi Takayanagi ()
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Masayuki Tsukasaki: The University of Tokyo
Noriko Komatsu: The University of Tokyo
Kazuki Nagashima: The University of Tokyo
Takeshi Nitta: The University of Tokyo
Warunee Pluemsakunthai: The University of Tokyo
Chisa Shukunami: Hiroshima University
Yoichiro Iwakura: Tokyo University of Science
Tomoki Nakashima: Tokyo Medical and Dental University
Kazuo Okamoto: The University of Tokyo
Hiroshi Takayanagi: The University of Tokyo

Nature Communications, 2018, vol. 9, issue 1, 1-11

Abstract: Abstract The immune system evolved to efficiently eradicate invading bacteria and terminate inflammation through balancing inflammatory and regulatory T-cell responses. In autoimmune arthritis, pathogenic TH17 cells induce bone destruction and autoimmune inflammation. However, whether a beneficial function of T-cell-induced bone damage exists is unclear. Here, we show that bone-damaging T cells have a critical function in the eradication of bacteria in a mouse model of periodontitis, which is the most common infectious disease. Bacterial invasion leads to the generation of specialized TH17 cells that protect against bacteria by evoking mucosal immune responses as well as inducing bone damage, the latter of which also inhibits infection by removing the tooth. Thus, bone-damaging T cells, which may have developed to stop local infection by inducing tooth loss, function as a double-edged sword by protecting against pathogens while also inducing skeletal tissue degradation.

Date: 2018
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-03147-6

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