Assessment of CD8+ T cell differentiation in Trypanosoma cruzi-infected children.

ALBAREDA MC; OLIVERA CG; DE RISSIO AM; POSTAN M

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF TROPICAL MEDICINE AND HYGIENE

AMER SOC TROP MED & HYGIENE

Año: 2010

0002-9637

We previously reported that the T cell compartment in chronically T. cruzi-infected adult subjects display functional and phenotypic signs of immune senescence. This study aimed to investigate the differentiation and the senescent profile of the overall CD8+ T cell compartment in T. cruzi-infected children at early stage of the disease. We found lower percentage of naïve (CD27+CD28+CD45RA+) and early antigen-experienced (CD45RA-CD27+CD28+), and higher percentages of late differentiated antigen-experienced (CD45RA-CD27-CD28-) CD8+ T cells in T. cruzi-infected children as compared with age-matched uninfected controls. The expression of the IL-7R is also decreased on naive and on antigen-experienced total CD8+ T cells with various degrees of differentiation. Conversely, the expression of HLA-DR, caspase-3 and CD57 did not vary on the total CD8+ T cell compartment. These findings support that the duration of the infection is relevant in the process of immune senescent that this parasite can induce.