title: Hepatic cellular immune responses in mice with "cure" and "non-cure" phenotype to Leishmania infantum infection: importance of CD8+ T cells and TGF-beta production.
abstract: The objective of this study was to analyse hepatic cellular immune response of mice with "cure" and "non-cure" phenotypes to Leishmania infantum infection. During infection establishment, elevated TGF-beta levels and absence of a Th1 response may have contributed to parasite multiplication and to similar hepatic parasitic loads. Later in infection, an increase in the number and activation levels of CD8+ cells was observed simultaneously with parasite elimination, but only significant in "cure" strain. During this recovering phase, "non-cure" animals showed low Th2 cytokine levels, while TGF-beta production was higher than in "cure" mice. These results point out to a role for CD8+ T cells in liver acquired immune response and to TGF-beta regulation of "cure" and "non-cure" phenotype to L. infantum infection.
authors.affiliation: Unidade de Leishmanioses, Centro de Malária e Outras Doenças Tropicais, Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical (IHMT), Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Rua da Junqueira 96, 1349-008 Lisboa, Portugal.
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gomes-Pereira
authors.forename: Olivia Roos
authors.initials: OR
authors.lastname: Rodrigues
authors.forename: Nuno
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Rolão
authors.forename: Paulo David
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Almeida
authors.forename: Gabriela Maria
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Santos-Gomes
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan / Q000097:blood; D016516:CD4-CD8 Ratio; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D006224:Cricetinae; D016207:Cytokines / Q000276:immunology; D018314:Leishmania infantum / Q000276:immunology*; D007898:Leishmaniasis, Visceral / Q000276:immunology* / Q000469:parasitology / Q000473:pathology; D008099:Liver / Q000276:immunology* / Q000469:parasitology; D008647:Mesocricetus; D051379:Mice; D020297:Mice, Congenic; D018417:Th1 Cells / Q000276:immunology; D018418:Th2 Cells / Q000276:immunology; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta / Q000096:biosynthesis*
chemical_list: D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan; D016207:Cytokines; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta