Presence of antigen-experienced T cells with low grade of differentiation and proliferative potential in chronic Chagas disease myocarditis

Abstract

The main consequence of chronic Trypanosoma cruzi infection is the development of myocarditis in approximately 20-30% of infected individuals but not until 10-20 years after the initial infection. We have previously shown that circulating interferon-γ-secreting T cells responsive to Trypanosoma cruzi antigens in chronic Chagas disease patients display a low grade of differentiation and the frequency of these T lymphocytes decreases along with the severity of heart disease. This study thought to explore the expression of inhibitory receptors, transcription factors of type 1 or regulatory T cells, and markers of T cell differentiation, immunosenescence or active cell cycle in cardiac explants from patients with advanced Chagas disease myocarditis.