title: Increased thymic output during acute measles virus infection.
abstract: Measles virus infects thymic epithelia, induces a transient lymphopenia, and impairs cell-mediated immunity, but thymic function during measles has not been well characterized. Thirty Zambian children hospitalized with measles were studied at entry, hospital discharge, and at 1-month follow-up and compared to 17 healthy children. During hospitalization, percentages of naïve (CD62L+, CD45RA+) CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes decreased (P = 0.01 for both), and activated (HLA-DR+, CD25+, or CD69+) CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes increased (P = 0.02 and 0.03, respectively). T-cell receptor rearrangement excision circles (TRECs) in measles patients were increased in CD8+ T cells at entry compared to levels at hospital discharge (P = 0.02) and follow-up (P = 0.04). In CD4+ T cells, the increase in TRECS occurred later but was more sustained. At discharge, TRECs in CD4+ T cells (P = 0.05) and circulating levels of interleukin-7 (P = 0.007) were increased compared to control values and remained elevated for 1 month, similar to observations in two measles virus-infected rhesus monkeys. These findings suggest that a decrease in thymic output is not the cause of the lymphopenia and depressed cellular immunity associated with measles.
authors.affiliation: W. Harry Feinstone Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N. Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD 21205-2179, USA.
authors.forename: Sallie R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Permar
authors.forename: William J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Moss
authors.forename: Judith J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Ryon
authors.forename: Daniel C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Douek
authors.forename: Mwaka
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Monze
authors.forename: Diane E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Griffin
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000818:Animals; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D016130:Immunophenotyping; D007223:Infant; D015851:Interleukin-7 / Q000097:blood; D008253:Macaca mulatta; D008457:Measles / Q000276:immunology* / Q000821:virology; D008459:Measles virus / Q000276:immunology*; D010351:Patient Discharge; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology*; D015024:Zambia
chemical_list: D015851:Interleukin-7; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell