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Cytokine-producing T cell subsets in human leishmaniasis
1Center for Medical Parasitology, Department of Infectious Diseases, Copenhagen University Hospital (Rigshospitalet) and Institute for Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of Copenhagen, Denmark. kkcmp@rh.dk
Archivum Immunologiae Et Therapiae Experimentalis
|July 27, 2000
Summary
Immune responses in Leishmania infections differ between mice and humans. While mice develop either Th1 or Th2 responses, humans can exhibit both, suggesting a role for regulatory T cells in managing Leishmania.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Parasitology
- Infectious Diseases
Background:
- Leishmania infections elicit distinct T-helper cell (Th1/Th2) responses in hosts.
- Cytokine profiles correlate with Leishmania infection severity: Th2 responses are linked to severe outcomes, while Th1 responses are associated with milder or subclinical infections.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the differences in Leishmania-specific T-cell polarization between mice and humans.
- To explore the immunological mechanisms that permit the coexistence of both Th1 and Th2 cells in cured human infections.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of Leishmania-specific T-cell populations.
- Assessment of cytokine response profiles in infected individuals.
Main Results:
- Murine Leishmania infections result in polarized Th1 or Th2 responses.
- Humans cured of Leishmania donovani infections display both Th1 and Th2 Leishmania antigen-specific cells.
- Theoretical mutual down-regulation of Th1 and Th2 cells may be overcome by regulatory T cell subsets.
Conclusions:
- Host immune responses to Leishmania, specifically T-cell polarization, differ significantly between mice and humans.
- The presence of antigen-specific regulatory T cells may explain the co-existence of Th1 and Th2 cells in humans, allowing for a more complex immune regulation in cured infections.