Profile of Central and Effector Memory T Cells in the Progression of Chronic Human Chagas Disease

Abstract

Based on a correlation between the frequency of IFN-gamma producing CD8+ T cells in the T cell memory compartment and the chronic chagasic myocarditis, we propose that memory T cells can be involved in the induction of the development of the severe clinical forms of the Chagas disease by mechanisms modulated by IFN-gamma. Furthermore, we showed that individuals from IND group presented more T(CM) CD4(+) T cells, which may induce a regulatory mechanism to protect the host against the exacerbated inflammatory response elicited by the infection.