Regulation of CD8(+) T Cell Responses to Infection With Parasitic Protozoa

Exp Parasitol. 2010 May 19. [Epub ahead of print]

Regulation of CD8(+) T Cell Responses to Infection With Parasitic Protozoa

Jordan KA, Hunter CA.

Department of Pathobiology, University of Pennsylvania, 380 South University Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.

Abstract
There are over 10,000 species of parasitic protozoa, a subset of which can cause considerable disease in humans. Here we examine in detail the complex immune response generated during infection with a subset of these parasites: Trypanosoma cruzi, Leishmania sp, Toxoplasma gondii, and Plasmodium sp. While these particular species perhaps represent the most studied parasites in terms of understanding how T cells function during infection, it is clear that the lessons learned from this body of work are also relevant to the other protozoa known to induce a CD8+ T cell response. This review will highlight some of the key studies that established that CD8+ T cells play a major role in protective immunity to protozoa, the factors that promote the generation as well as maintenance of the CD8+ T cell response during these infections, and draw attention to some of the gaps in our knowledge. Moreover, the development of new tools, including MHC Class I tetramer reagents and the use of TCR transgenic mice or genetically modified parasites, has provided a better appreciation of how parasite specific CD8+ T cell responses are initiated and new insights into their phenotypic plasticity. Copyright © 2010. Published by Elsevier Inc.

PMID: 20493842 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]