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BIBTEX RIS

Lower numbers of circulating natural killer T (NK T) cells in individuals with human T lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) associated neurological disease

2009; Oxford University Press; Volume: 158; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1111/j.1365-2249.2009.04019.x

ISSN

1365-2249

Autores

Lishomwa C. Ndhlovu, Jennifer Snyder‐Cappione, Karina I. Carvalho, Fábio E. Leal, Christopher P. Loo, Fernanda R. Bruno, Aashish R. Jha, Deborah DeVita, Aaron M. Hasenkrug, Hugo Marcelo Ribeiro Barbosa, Aluísio Augusto Cotrim Segurado, Douglas F. Nixon, Edward L. Murphy, Esper G. Kallás,

Tópico(s)

Immune Cell Function and Interaction

Resumo

Summary Human T lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) infects 10–20 million people worldwide. The majority of infected individuals are asymptomatic; however, approximately 3% develop the debilitating neurological disease HTLV-1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP). There is also currently no cure, vaccine or effective therapy for HTLV-1 infection, and the mechanisms for progression to HAM/TSP remain unclear. NK T cells are an immunoregulatory T cell subset whose frequencies and effector functions are associated critically with immunity against infectious diseases. We hypothesized that NK T cells are associated with HAM/TSP progression. We measured NK T cell frequencies and absolute numbers in individuals with HAM/TSP infection from two cohorts on two continents: São Paulo, Brazil and San Francisco, CA, USA, and found significantly lower levels when compared with healthy subjects and/or asymptomatic carriers. Also, the circulating NK T cell compartment in HAM/TSP subjects is comprised of significantly more CD4+ and fewer CD8+ cells than healthy controls. These findings suggest that lower numbers of circulating NK T cells and enrichment of the CD4+ NK T subset are associated with HTLV-1 disease progression.

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