Circulating lymphocyte subpopulations and activated T and B cells in patients with chagasic and non-chagasic myocardiopathy
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J Piedras1, S Gutierrez, P A Reyes-López
1Instituto Nacional de la Nutricion Salvador Zubiran, Hematology-Oncology Department, Laboratory of Cell Biology, Mexico.
Insights
Chagasic cardiomyopathy patients exhibit decreased T cells and increased B cells, while non-chagasic dilated cardiomyopathy patients show increased activated T and B lymphocytes, suggesting distinct immune dysregulation in both conditions.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Cardiology
- Infectious Diseases
Background:
- Trypanosoma cruzi infection leads to immune depression and potentially chronic myocardiopathy.
- Dilated non-chagasic cardiomyopathy may also involve immunological mechanisms.
- Understanding immune cell patterns can differentiate these conditions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To distinguish abnormal immunoregulatory cell patterns in chagasic and non-chagasic dilated myocardiopathies.
- To compare lymphocyte subpopulations between patient groups and healthy controls.
Main Methods:
- Flow cytometry and double-labeling were used to measure T and B lymphocyte subpopulations.
- Whole blood samples were analyzed from patients with chagasic myocardiopathy, non-chagasic cardiomyopathies, and healthy controls.
Main Results:
- Chagasic patients showed decreased CD3+/CD71+ and CD8+/CD25+ cells, but increased CD19+, CD10+, and CD19+/HLA-DR+ cells, with a high helper/suppressor ratio.
- Non-chagasic dilated cardiomyopathy patients had increased activated T cells (CD3+/CD25+, CD8+/CD25+, CD8+/HLA-DR+) and B lymphocytes (CD10+, CD19+, CD19+HLA-DR+).
Conclusions:
- Chronic chagasic patients with myocardiopathy display T cell diminution alongside elevated B lymphocyte numbers.
- Dilated non-chagasic cardiomyopathies are associated with distinct immunological abnormalities involving increased activated T and B lymphocytes.
- These findings support the role of immune dysregulation in various dilated myocardiopathies.
Abstract:
Trypanosoma cruzi causes a profound immune depression in the infected host, and a small proportion of chagasic patients will develop a chronic disease characterized by myocardiopathy. There is evidence suggesting that dilated non-chagasic cardiomyopathy may be mediated by an immunological mechanism. In an attempt to distinguish abnormal immunoregulatory cell patterns in both dilated myocardiopathies, total and activated T and B lymphocyte subpopulations were measured by flow cytometry and double-labeling in whole blood samples from patients with dilated myocardiopathy, 10 with positive serological tests for T. cruzi and 9 with different non-chagasic cardiomyopathies. Several significant differences were found between both groups of patients and 13 sex- and age-matched apparently healthy controls. Chagasic patients besides showing clear decrease in absolute numbers of CD3+/CD71+ and CD8+/CD25+ cell populations also had a significant increase in CD19+, CD10+, and CD19+/HLA-DR+ cell subsets, as well as high helper/ suppressor cell ratio. These findings suggest that concurrently with T cell diminution, which involved activated T lymphocytes displaying suppressor/cytotoxic immunophenotype, chronic chagasic patients with myocardiopathy showed elevated numbers of total and activated B lymphocytes. Patients with dilated non-chagasic myocardiopathy had significantly increased numbers of activated T cells (CD3+/CD25+, CD8+/CD25+, and CD8+/HLA-DR+) and total and activated B lymphocytes (CD10+, CD19+, CD19+HLA-DR+). These data support the notion that dilated myocardiopathies other than the chagasics may be associated with immunological abnormalities.