Onchocerca volvulus provides ligands for the stimulation of human gamma/delta T lymphocytes expressing V delta 1 chains.
Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from 8 onchocerciasis patients, treated or not with ivermectin, were analyzed for phenotypic cell surface markers. A significant increase (P < .05) in gamma/delta T cells expressing the V delta 1 chain compared with normal and endemic controls was detected in all patients. PBMC populations from onchocerciasis patients were not expanded after restimulation with Onchocerca volvulus antigens in vitro, but both V delta 1 and V delta 2 T cells from normal donors were increased significantly in response to O. volvulus and Mycobacterium tuberculosis (P < .05), respectively. Frozen sections of all 5 onchocerca nodules tested demonstrated an increased number of CD3+ cells in the vicinity of the adult worm, in all cases expressing the alpha/beta T cell receptor and in 2 patients also expressing the gamma/delta T cell receptor; 60% of T cells expressed the activation marker Ki67. These data suggest that O. volvulus provides ligands to V delta 1 T cells.
Munk
M E
ME
Department of Immunology, Ulm University, Germany.
Soboslay
P T
PT
Arnoldi
J
J
Brattig
N
N
Schulz-Key
H
H
Kaufmann
S H
SH
D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D000947:Antigens, Helminth / Q000276:immunology*; D017252:CD3 Complex / Q000032:analysis; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008024:Ligands; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D008297:Male; D017181:Onchocerca volvulus / Q000276:immunology*; D009855:Onchocerciasis / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D010641:Phenotype; D016692:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, gamma-delta / Q000276:immunology*; D012867:Skin / Q000473:pathology; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*
D000947:Antigens, Helminth; D017252:CD3 Complex; D008024:Ligands; D016692:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, gamma-delta