CXCR3-Dependent CD4(+) T Cells Are Required to Activate Inflammatory Monocytes for Defense against Intestinal Infection

Chemokines and their receptors play a critical role in orchestrating immunity to microbial pathogens, including the orally acquired Th1-inducing protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii. Chemokine receptor CXCR3 is associated with Th1 responses, and here we use bicistronic CXCR3-eGFP knock-in reporter mice to demonstrate upregulation of this chemokine receptor on CD4(+) and CD8(+) T lymphocytes during Toxoplasma infection. We show a critical role for CXCR3 in resistance to the parasite in the intestinal mucosa. Absence of the receptor in Cxcr3(−/−) mice resulted in selective loss of ability to control T. gondii specifically in the lamina propria compartment. CD4(+) T cells were impaired both in their recruitment to the intestinal lamina propria and in their ability to secrete IFN-γ upon stimulation. Local recruitment of CD11b(+)Ly6C/G(+) inflammatory monocytes, recently reported to be major anti-Toxoplasma effectors in the intestine, was not impacted by loss of CXCR3. However, inflammatory monocyte activation status, as measured by dual production of TNF-α and IL-12, was severely impaired in Cxcr3(−/−) mice. Strikingly, adoptive transfer of wild-type but not Ifnγ(−/−) CD4(+) T lymphocytes into Cxcr3(−/−) animals prior to infection corrected the defect in inflammatory macrophage activation, simultaneously reversing the susceptibility phenotype of the knockout animals. Our results establish a central role for CXCR3 in coordinating innate and adaptive immunity, ensuring generation of Th1 effectors and their trafficking to the frontline of infection to program microbial killing by inflammatory monocytes.