CD4⁺ T cells mediate abscess formation in intra-abdominal sepsis by an IL-17-dependent mechanism

Abscess formation associated with intra-abdominal sepsis causes severe morbidity and can be fatal. Previous studies have implicated T cells in the pathogenesis of abscess formation, and we have recently shown that CD4⁺ T cells activated in vitro by zwitterionic capsular polysaccharides from abscess-inducing bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus and Bacteroides fragilis initiate this host response when transferred to naive rats. In this study, we show that mice deficient in αβTCR-bearing T cells or CD4⁺ T cells fail to develop abscesses following challenge with B. fragilis or abscess-inducing zwitterionic polysaccharides, compared with CD8^-/- or wild-type animals. Transfer of CD4⁺ T cells from wild-type mice to αβTCR^-/- animals reconstituted this ability. The induction of abscesses required T cell costimulation via the CD28-B7 pathway, and T cell transfer experiments with STAT4^-/- and STAT6^-/- mice demonstrated that this host response is dependent on STAT4 signaling. Significantly higher levels of IL-17, a proinflammatory cytokine produced almost exclusively by activated CD4⁺ T cells, were associated with abscess formation in Th2-impaired (STAT6-^/-) mice, while STAT4^-/- mice had significantly lower levels of this cytokine than control animals. The formation of abscesses was preceded by an increase in the number of activated CD4⁺ T cells in the peritoneal cavity 24 h following bacterial challenge. Confocal laser-scanning microscopy analysis revealed that CD4⁺ T cells comprise the abscess wall in these animals and produce IL-17 at this site. Administration of a neutralizing Ab specific for IL-17 prevented abscess formation followingbacterial challenge in mice. These data delineate the specific T cell response necessary for the development of intra-abdominal abscesses and underscore the role of IL-17 in this disease process.