Prevalence of CD8(+)alpha beta T cells in Trypanosoma cruzi-elicited myocarditis is associated with acquisition of CD62L(Low)LFA-1(High)VLA-4(High) activation phenotype and expression of IFN-gamma-inducible adhesion and chemoattractant molecules

• Published in: Microbes and infection 2001-10, Vol.3 (12), p.971-984
• Main Authors: dos Santos, P V, Roffê, E, Santiago, H C, Torres, R A, Marino, A P, Paiva, C N, Silva, A A, Gazzinelli, R T, Lannes-Vieira, J
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes - immunology; Cell Adhesion Molecules - biosynthesis; Chagas Cardiomyopathy - immunology; Chagas Cardiomyopathy - parasitology; Chagas Cardiomyopathy - pathology; Chemokines - biosynthesis; Cytokines - biosynthesis; Female; Immunophenotyping; Integrin alpha4beta1; Integrins - analysis; Interferon-gamma - pharmacology; L-Selectin - analysis; Lymphocyte Function-Associated Antigen-1 - analysis; Mice; Mice, Inbred C3H; Myocardium - pathology; Parasitemia - mortality; Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta - analysis; Receptors, Lymphocyte Homing - analysis
• ISSN: 1286-4579
• DOI: 10.1016/S1286-4579(01)01461-7

The determinants of the prevalence of CD8(+) T cells in the inflamed myocardium of Trypanosoma cruzi-infected patients and experimental animals are undefined. Using C3H/He mice infected with the Colombiana strain of T. cruzi, we found that the distribution of CD4(+)/CD8(-) and CD4(-)/CD8(+) T cells in the myocardium mirrors the frequency of cells expressing the CD62L(Low)LFA-1(High)VLA-4(High) activation phenotype among CD4(+)/CD8(-) and CD4(-)/CD8(+ )peripheral blood T cells. Consistently, vascular cell adhesion molecule-1-positive endothelial cells and a fine fibronectin network surrounding VLA-4(+) mononuclear cells were found in the inflamed myocardium. Further, interferon gamma (IFN-gamma) and IFN-gamma-induced chemokines (RANTES, MIG and CRG-2/IP-10), as well as JE/MCP-1 and MIP1-alpha, were found to be the dominant cytokines expressed in situ during acute and chronic myocarditis elicited by T. cruzi. In contrast, interleukin 4 mRNA was only detected during the chronic phase. Altogether, the results indicate that the distribution of T-cell subsets in the myocardium of T. cruzi-infected mice reflects the particular profile of adhesion molecules acquired by most peripheral CD8(+) T lymphocytes and point to the possibility that multiple IFN-gamma-inducible molecules present in the inflamed tissue contribute to the establishment and maintenance of T. cruzi-induced myocarditis.