CD8+ T–cell Exhaustion Phenotype in Human Asymptomatic and Ocular Toxoplasmosis

Laura Lorena García-López, Mónica Vargas-Montes, Juan Felipe Osorio-Méndez, Néstor Cardona, Alejandro Hernández De Los Ríos, Carlos Andrés Toro-Acevedo, Juan Camilo Arenas-García, Luz Eliana Mantilla-Muriel, Elizabeth Torres, Juan D. Valencia-Hernández, Alejandro Acosta-Dávila, Alejandra de-la-Torre, Daniel Celis-Giraldo, Manuela Mejía Oquendo, Juan Carlos Sepúlveda-Arias, Jorge Enrique Gómez-Marín

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

This work analyzed exhaustion markers in CD8+ T-cell subpopulations in 21 samples of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from individuals with ocular toxoplasmosis (n = 9), chronic asymptomatic toxoplasmosis (n = 7), and non-infected people (n = 5) by using RT-qPCR and flow cytometry techniques. The study found that gene expression of PD-1 and CD244, but not LAG-3, was higher in individuals with ocular toxoplasmosis versus individuals with asymptomatic infection or uninfected. Expression of PD1 in CD8+ central memory (CM) cells was higher in nine individuals with toxoplasmosis versus five uninfected individuals (p =.003). After ex vivo stimulation, an inverse correlation was found between the exhaustion markers and quantitative clinical characteristics (lesion size, recurrence index, and number of lesions). A total exhaustion phenotype was found in 55.5% (5/9) of individuals with ocular toxoplasmosis. Our results suggest that the CD8+ exhaustion phenotype is involved in the pathogenesis of ocular toxoplasmosis.

Original languageEnglish (US)
JournalOcular Immunology and Inflammation
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 14 2023

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Immunology and Allergy
  • Ophthalmology

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