Host defense against oral microbiota by bone-damaging T cells

Authors: Masayuki Tsukasaki, Noriko Komatsu, Kazuki Nagashima, Takeshi Nitta, Warunee Pluemsakunthai, Chisa Shukunami, Yoichiro Iwakura, Tomoki Nakashima, Kazuo Okamoto, Hiroshi Takayanagi - Nature Communications 2018 cited by 315

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 T H 17 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 T H 17 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.