Genetic control of susceptibility to tuberculosis (TB) is being intensively studied, and immune responses to mycobacteria are considerably well characterized. However, it remains largely unknown which parameters of response distinguish resistant and susceptible TB phenotypes. Mice of I/St and A/Sn inbred strains and (A/Sn x I/St)F(1) hybrids were previously categorized as, respectively, susceptible, resistant, and hyperresistant to Mycobacterium tuberculosis-triggered disease. In the present work we compared parameters of lung T cell activation and response following M. tuberculosis challenge. In all mice, the disease progression was accompanied by a marked accumulation in the lungs of activated CD4(+) (CD44(high)/CD45RB(low)) and CD8(+) (CD44(high)/CD45RB(+)) T cells capable of secreting IFN-gamma and of activating macrophages for NO production and mycobacterial growth inhibition. However, significantly more CD8(+) T cells were accumulated in the lungs of resistant A/Sn and F(1) compared with I/St mice. About 80% A/Sn and F(1) CD8(+) cells expressed CD44(high)/CD45RB(+) phenotype, while about 40% I/St CD8(+) cells did not express CD45RB marker at week 5 of infection. In contrast, in susceptible I/St mice lung CD4(+) cells proliferated much more strongly in response to mycobacterial sonicate, and a higher proportion of these cells expressed CD95 and underwent apoptosis compared with A/Sn cells. Unseparated lung cells and T cells of I/St origin produced more IL-5 and IL-10, respectively, whereas their A/Sn and F1 counterparts produced more IFN-gamma following infection. F(1) cells overall expressed an intermediate phenotype between the two parental strains. Such a more balanced type of immune reactivity could be linked to a better TB defense.