Programmed T-cell death in experimental chagas disease.
In mature T cells, programmed cell death is thought to serve a regulatory function by limiting both the duration and amplitude of immune responses. Programmed cell death might also be involved in immuno-pathogenesis of certain infectious diseases: recent evidence suggests that programmed T-cell death plays an important role in immune suppression during viral infections. In this article, George DosReis, Maria Evangelina Fonseca and Marcela Lopes review their findings on programmed T-cell death in experimental infection induced by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, the causative agent of Chagas disease. They also discuss the differential behavior of CD4(+) and CD8(+) T-cell subsets regarding programmed cell death, and same possible pathogenic aspects of host-parasite interaction, where abnormal or exaggerated programmed T-cell death could be involved.
DosReis
G A
GA
Department of Immunology, Instituto de Microbiologia da Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Brasil. ACBONOMO@omega.LNCC.BR
Fonseca
M E
ME
Lopes
M F
MF