title: Characterization of T cell clones from chagasic patients: predominance of CD8 surface phenotype in clones from patients with pathology.
abstract: Human Chagas' disease, caused by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi, is associated with pathological processes whose mechanisms are not known. To address this question, T cell lines were developed from chronic chagasic patients peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and cloned. These T cell clones (TCC) were analyzed phenotypically with monoclonal antibodies by the use of a fluorescence microscope. The surface phenotype of the TCC from the asymptomatic patient were predominantly CD4 positive (86%). On the contrary, the surface phenotype CD8 was predominant in the TCC from the patients suffering from cardiomegaly with right bundle branch block (83%), bradycardia with megacolon (75%) and bradycardia (75%). Future studies will be developed in order to identify the antigens eliciting these T cell subpopulations.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Parasitología, Instituto Boliviano de Biología de Altura, Facultad de Medicina, La Paz, Bolivia.
authors.forename: W R
authors.initials: WR
authors.lastname: Cuna
authors.forename: C R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Cuna
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000953:Antigens, Protozoan / Q000276:immunology; D016516:CD4-CD8 Ratio; D014355:Chagas Disease / Q000276:immunology*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D002999:Clone Cells; D006801:Humans; D016130:Immunophenotyping; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D014349:Trypanosoma cruzi / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000953:Antigens, Protozoan