TY - JOUR

T1 - Rapid reemergence of T cells into peripheral circulation following treatment of severe and uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria

AU - Hviid, L

AU - Kurtzhals, J A

AU - Goka, B Q

AU - Oliver-Commey, J O

AU - Nkrumah, F K

AU - Theander, T G

N1 - Keywords: Anemia; Antigens, CD3; Blood Circulation; CD4 Lymphocyte Count; CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes; CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes; Child, Preschool; Chloroquine; Disease Transmission; Endemic Diseases; Ghana; Humans; Lymphocyte Function-Associated Antigen-1; Lymphopenia; Malaria, Cerebral; Malaria, Falciparum; Seasons

PY - 1997

Y1 - 1997

N2 - Frequencies and absolute numbers of peripheral T-cell subsets were monitored closely following acute Plasmodium falciparum malaria in 22 Ghanaian children from an area of hyperendemicity for seasonal malaria transmission. The children presented with cerebral or uncomplicated malaria (CM or UM, respectively) or with severe malarial anemia. For all patients the frequencies and absolute numbers of peripheral T cells were lower than normal during the acute stage of disease. This lowering was most pronounced in the CM group and least pronounced in the UM group. Of particular interest, the CM patients showed markedly reduced frequencies of CD4+ cells, the number of which also normalized slower than in the other clinical groups. In all patients, the T-cell frequencies gradually approached normal values after the initiation of therapy, whereas the absolute numbers rapidly reverted from lower than normal to higher than normal before returning to steady-state levels. Furthermore, the initially reduced T-cell surface density of the T-cell receptor/CD3 complex, which rapidly normalized, was a general finding for all three clinical groups, suggesting a state of peripheral T-cell hyporesponsiveness during acute malaria. The data presented suggest a rapid therapy-induced reemergence of T cells that had been temporarily removed from the peripheral circulation as a consequence of the malaria attack and that the degree of the disease-induced T-cell reallocation correlates with disease severity.

AB - Frequencies and absolute numbers of peripheral T-cell subsets were monitored closely following acute Plasmodium falciparum malaria in 22 Ghanaian children from an area of hyperendemicity for seasonal malaria transmission. The children presented with cerebral or uncomplicated malaria (CM or UM, respectively) or with severe malarial anemia. For all patients the frequencies and absolute numbers of peripheral T cells were lower than normal during the acute stage of disease. This lowering was most pronounced in the CM group and least pronounced in the UM group. Of particular interest, the CM patients showed markedly reduced frequencies of CD4+ cells, the number of which also normalized slower than in the other clinical groups. In all patients, the T-cell frequencies gradually approached normal values after the initiation of therapy, whereas the absolute numbers rapidly reverted from lower than normal to higher than normal before returning to steady-state levels. Furthermore, the initially reduced T-cell surface density of the T-cell receptor/CD3 complex, which rapidly normalized, was a general finding for all three clinical groups, suggesting a state of peripheral T-cell hyporesponsiveness during acute malaria. The data presented suggest a rapid therapy-induced reemergence of T cells that had been temporarily removed from the peripheral circulation as a consequence of the malaria attack and that the degree of the disease-induced T-cell reallocation correlates with disease severity.

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 9317012

VL - 65

SP - 4090

EP - 4093

JO - Infection and Immunity

JF - Infection and Immunity

SN - 0019-9567

IS - 10

ER -