title: Plasmodium vivax infection induces expansion of activated naïve/memory T cells and differentiation into a central memory profile.
abstract: Immunity to malaria is widely believed to wane in the absence of reinfection, but direct evidence for the presence or absence of durable immunological memory to malaria is limited. Here, we characterized the profile of circulating naïve and memory (including central and effector) CD4⁺ T cells responses of individuals naturally infected by Plasmodium vivax. In the current study, we demonstrated that acute P. vivax infection induces a significant increase in the absolute number of both naïve and memory cells, which were responsible for the production of anti-inflammatory (IL-10) and pro-inflammatory (IFN-γ) cytokines. Finally, we described the profile of memory cell subtypes (T(CM)-CD45RO(high)CCR7⁺ and T(EM)-CD45RO(high)CCR7⁻), as well as the pattern of cell migration based on CD62L selectin expression, demonstrating that P. vivax-infected donors presented with a predominantly central memory cell profile. Our results indicate that the expansion of both naïve and memory T cells, responsible for the production of both pro-inflammatory and regulatory cytokines, which might also contribute to the modulation of immune responses during P. vivax infection.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Parasitologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Av. Antônio Carlos 6627, 31270-901 Belo Horizonte (MG), Brazil.
authors.forename: Ana Luiza Teixeira
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.forename: Marcus Vinícius
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Lacerda
authors.forename: Ricardo Toshio
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Fujiwara
authors.forename: Lilian Lacerda
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Bueno
authors.forename: Erika Martins
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Braga
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016207:Cytokines / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007156:Immunologic Memory; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010966:Plasmodium vivax / Q000276:immunology*; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines
keywords: Central memory; Memory response; Plasmodium vivax