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Xue-Jun Yin,¹ Rosana Schafer,² Jane Y.C. Ma,³ James M. Antonini,³ Jenny R. Roberts,³ David N. Weissman,³
Paul D. Siegel,³ and Joseph K.H. Ma¹

¹School of Pharmacy, ²School of Medicine, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; ³Health Effects Laboratory Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Morgantown, West Virginia, USA

Abstract

Previously, we showed that diesel exhaust particles (DEPs) suppressed pulmonary clearance of Listeria monocytogenes (Listeria) and inhibited the phagocytosis of alveolar macrophages and their response to Listeria in the secretion of interleukin (IL) -1ß, tumor necrosis factor , and IL-12. In this report we examined the effects of DEPs and/or Listeria on T-cell development and secretion of IL-2, IL-6, and interferon (IFN) -. We exposed Brown Norway rats to clean air or DEPs at 50 or 100 mg/m³ for 4 hr by nose-only inhalation and inoculated with 100,000 Listeria. Lymphocytes in the lung-draining lymph nodes were isolated at 3 and 7 days postexposure, analyzed for CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ cells, and measured for cytokine production in response to concanavalin A or heat-killed L. monocytogenes. Listeria infection induced lymphocyte production of IL-6. At 7 days postinfection, lymphocytes from Listeria-infected rats showed significant increases in CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ cell counts and the CD8⁺/CD4⁺ ratio and exhibited increased production of IFN- and IL-2 receptor expression compared with the noninfected control. These results suggest an immune response that involves the action of IL-6 on T-cell activation, yielding Listeria-specific CD8⁺ cells. DEP exposure alone enhanced lymphocyte production of both IL-2 and IL-6 but inhibited lymphocyte secretion of IFN-. In rats exposed to 100 mg/m³ DEPs and Listeria, a 10-fold increase occurred in pulmonary bacterial count at 3 days postinfection when compared with the Listeria-only exposure group. The isolated lymphocytes showed a significant increase in the CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ cell counts and the CD8⁺/CD4⁺ ratio and exhibited increased IL-2 responsiveness and increased capacity in the secretion of IL-2, IL-6, and IFN-. This T-cell immune response was sufficient to allow the Brown Norway rats to clear the bacteria at 7 days postinfection and overcome the down-regulation of the innate immunity by the acute DEP exposure. Key words: diesel exhaust particles, IL-2 receptor, interferon-, interleukin-2, interleukin-6, Listeria monocytogenes, T-cell responses. Environ Health Perspect 111:524-530 (2003) .