Limited Foxp3+ Regulatory T Cells Response During Acute Trypanosoma cruzi Infection Is Required to Allow the Emergence of Robust Parasite-Specific CD8+ T Cell Immunity

ARAUJO FURLAN, CINTIA L.; TOSELLO BOARI, JIMENA; RODRIGUEZ, CONSTANZA; CANALE, FERNANDO P.; FIOCCA VERNENGO, FACUNDO; BOCCARDO, SANTIAGO; BECCARIA, CRISTIAN G.; ADOUE, VÉRONIQUE; JOFFRE, OLIVIER; GRUPPI, ADRIANA; MONTES, CAROLINA L.; ACOSTA RODRIGUEZ, EVA V.

Frontiers in Immunology

Frontiers Media SA

Año: 2018 vol. 9

hile it is now acknowledged that CD4+ T cells expressing CD25 and Foxp3 (Treg cells) regulate immune responses and, consequently, influence the pathogenesis of infectious diseases, the regulatory response mediated by Treg cells upon infection by Trypanosoma cruzi was still poorly characterized. In order to understand the role of Treg cells during infection by this protozoan parasite, we determined in time and space the magnitude of the regulatory response and the phenotypic, functional and transcriptional features of the Treg cell population in infected mice. Contrary to the accumulation of Treg cells reported in most chronic infections in mice and humans, experimental T. cruzi infection was characterized by sustained numbers but decreased relative frequency of Treg cells. The reduction in Treg cell frequency resulted from a massive accumulation of effector immune cells, and inversely correlated with the magnitude of the effector immune response as well as with emergence of acute immu