title: Human rotavirus specific T cells: quantification by ELISPOT and expression of homing receptors on CD4+ T cells.
abstract: Using an intracellular cytokine assay, we recently showed that the frequencies of rotavirus (RV)-specific CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells secreting INFgamma, circulating in RV infected and healthy adults, are very low compared to the frequencies of circulating cytomegalovirus (CMV) reactive T cells in comparable individuals. In children with acute RV infection, these T cells were barely or not detectable. In the present study, an ELISPOT assay enabled detection of circulating RV-specific INFgamma-secreting cells in children with RV diarrhea but not in children with non-RV diarrhea without evidence of a previous RV infection. Using microbead-enriched CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cell subsets, IFNgamma-secreting RV-specific CD8(+) but not CD4(+) T cells were detected in recently infected children. Using the same approach, both CD4(+) and CD8(+) RV-specific T cells were detected in healthy adults. Furthermore, stimulation of purified subsets of PBMC that express lymphocyte homing receptors demonstrated that RV-specific INFgamma-secreting CD4(+) T cells from adult volunteers preferentially express the intestinal homing receptor alpha4beta7, but not the peripheral lymph node homing receptor L-selectin. In contrast, CMV-specific INFgamma-secreting CD4(+) T cells preferentially express L-selectin but not alpha4beta7. These results suggest that the expression of homing receptors on virus-specific T cells depends on the organ where these cells were originally stimulated and that their capacity to secrete INFgamma is independent of the expression of these homing receptors.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Genetica Humana, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá, Colombia.
authors.forename: Olga Lucía
authors.initials: OL
authors.lastname: Rojas
authors.forename: Ana María
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: González
authors.forename: Rosabel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: González
authors.forename: Irene
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Pérez-Schael
authors.forename: Harry B
authors.initials: HB
authors.lastname: Greenberg
authors.forename: Manuel A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Franco
authors.forename: Juana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Angel
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000276:immunology; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000096:biosynthesis; D015847:Interleukin-4 / Q000096:biosynthesis; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D008875:Middle Aged; D016201:Receptors, Lymphocyte Homing / Q000378:metabolism; D012401:Rotavirus / Q000276:immunology*; D012400:Rotavirus Infections / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D016201:Receptors, Lymphocyte Homing; D015847:Interleukin-4; D007371:Interferon-gamma