CD8+ T cells in Trypanosoma cruzi infection.
CD8(+) T cells have emerged as crucial players in the control of a number of protozoan pathogens, including Trypanosoma cruzi, the agent of human Chagas disease. The recent identification of the dominant targets of T. cruzi-specific T cells has allowed investigators to follow the generation of and document the functionality of T cell responses in both mice and humans. Although slow to develop in the early stages of the infection, T. cruzi-specific CD8(+) T cells reach prodigious levels and remain highly functional throughout chronic infections in mice. Following drug-induced cure during either the acute or chronic stage, these immunodominant T cells persist as stable, antigen-independent memory populations. T. cruzi-specific CD8(+) T cells in humans are less-well-studied but appear to lose functionality and decline in numbers in these decades-long infections. Changes in the frequency of parasite-specific T cell upon therapeutic treatment in humans may provide a new metric for determining treatment efficacy.
Padilla
Angel M
AM
Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA.
Bustamante
Juan M
JM
Tarleton
Rick L
RL
D000818:Animals; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D014355:Chagas Disease / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy; D018450:Disease Progression; D006801:Humans; D016056:Immunodominant Epitopes / Q000276:immunology; D007156:Immunologic Memory; D051379:Mice; D011379:Prognosis; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014349:Trypanosoma cruzi / Q000254:growth & development / Q000276:immunology* / Q000472:pathogenicity
D016056:Immunodominant Epitopes