title: Characterization of peripheral blood T lymphocyte subsets in Chinese rhesus macaques with repeated or long-term infection with Plasmodium cynomolgi.
abstract: T lymphocytes play a vital role in antimalaria immunity, but there is little information about the role of T cells in malaria infection. In order to explore the profile of T cells in malaria immunity, we infected Chinese rhesus macaques with the malaria parasite (Plasmodium cynomolgi) and examined the dynamics of T cell subsets. Both repeated and long-term infections were involved. Our results showed that the monkeys in the repeated infection group acquired protective immunity through primary infection, which was evidenced by a much lower parasitemia, milder anemia, and milder fever during reinfection; the monkeys in the long-term infection group also developed protective immunity, but this was not sufficient to eliminate the parasite. The total counts of leukocytes, neutrophils, CD3+ T cells, CD4+ or CD8+ T cells, and naïve and memory CD4+ and CD8+ T cells declined during the acute phase of malaria but increased after the parasite was controlled. The total number of activated CD4+ T cells significantly increased during malaria in animals with a long-term infection, which remained at least 3 months after the termination of malaria. However, the activated CD4+ T cells decreased during the acute phase of infection in the repeated infection group and converted to preinfection levels after malaria was cured. Regulatory CD4+ T cells continued to increase during the malaria infections and quickly reverted to preinfection levels after the parasite was controlled. Our study provides a systematic analysis of the kinetic profiles of T lymphocyte subsets during malaria infections and provides some experimental insight into malaria immunology.
authors.affiliation: Graduate University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
authors.forename: Qinyan
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Zhiyan
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Ruan
authors.forename: Haixiang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Nanzheng
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.forename: Siting
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Qin
authors.forename: Xiaoping
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000740:Anemia / Q000517:prevention & control; D000818:Animals; D001769:Blood / Q000276:immunology*; D017252:CD3 Complex / Q000032:analysis; D015704:CD4 Antigens / Q000032:analysis; D016827:CD8 Antigens / Q000032:analysis; D002681:China; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D016130:Immunophenotyping; D008253:Macaca mulatta / Q000276:immunology*; D008288:Malaria / Q000276:immunology / Q000469:parasitology / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary*; D018512:Parasitemia / Q000517:prevention & control; D016789:Plasmodium cynomolgi / Q000276:immunology*; D018419:Primate Diseases / Q000276:immunology* / Q000469:parasitology / Q000473:pathology; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D017252:CD3 Complex; D015704:CD4 Antigens; D016827:CD8 Antigens