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Peripheral blood lymphocyte subsets in infants with diarrhea with and without Giardia lamblia infection
M Schlesinger1, E Granot, R Rabinowitz
1Hubert H. Humphrey Center for Experimental Medicine and Cancer Research, Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem, Israel.
Insights
Giardia lamblia diarrhea in infants did not alter lymphocyte subsets, unlike other acute gastroenteritis cases. This suggests a distinct immune response to Giardia infections in young children.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Pediatrics
- Infectious Diseases
Background:
- Giardia lamblia is a common cause of pediatric gastroenteritis.
- Understanding the cellular immune response in young children is crucial for managing infections.
- Lymphocyte subset analysis provides insights into immune system function.
Purpose of the Study:
- To characterize the cellular immune response in infants with Giardia lamblia-associated diarrhea.
- To compare immune profiles of infants with Giardia infection to those with other acute gastroenteritis and healthy controls.
Main Methods:
- Peripheral blood lymphocyte subsets were analyzed in three groups of infants: G. lamblia diarrhea, acute gastroenteritis, and controls.
- Flow cytometry was used to quantify proportions of CD8+, CD57+, CD4+, CD4+CD29+, and CD4+CD45RA+ cells.
Main Results:
- Infants with acute gastroenteritis showed higher CD8+ (suppressor cytotoxic T cells) and CD57+ (natural killer cells) lymphocytes compared to controls.
- G. lamblia-associated diarrhea did not significantly alter these lymphocyte subsets.
- Memory (CD4+CD29+) and naive (CD4+CD45RA+) T-cell levels showed distinct patterns in acute gastroenteritis but not in Giardia infections.
Conclusions:
- Gastrointestinal Giardia lamblia infection in young children does not elicit significant changes in peripheral blood lymphocyte subsets.
- The immune response to Giardia diarrhea differs from that observed in other forms of acute gastroenteritis.
- Further research is needed to elucidate the specific immune mechanisms involved in Giardia infections.
Abstract:
The aim of the present study was to define the cellular immune response during gastrointestinal Giardia lamblia infection in young children. The level of lymphocyte subsets was determined in the peripheral blood of infants with G. lamblia-associated diarrhea or acute gastroenteritis and from control infants without diarrhea. The proportion of peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) expressing the CD8 marker (suppressor cytotoxic T cells) and the CD57 marker (natural killer cells and subset of CD8+ T cells) was highest in infants with acute gastroenteritis, lower in infants without diarrhea, and lowest among those with G. lamblia-associated diarrhea. The level of CD4+ PBL (helper T cells) did not differ significantly among the three groups of children tested. The level of memory, or helper-inducer, CD4+CD29+ PBL was increased markedly in acute gastroenteritis as compared with their level among the other two groups, whereas naive or virgin CD4+CD45RA+ PBL had the reciprocal distribution among the three groups of infants. In contrast to acute gastroenteritis from other causes, G. lamblia-associated diarrhea did not elicit changes in lymphocyte subsets.