Alexandre Morrot
Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Title: Expression of the leukosialin CD43 on T cells defi nes a major intrahepatic T-cells subset associated with protective responses in visceral leishmaniasis
Biography
Biography: Alexandre Morrot
Abstract
Leishmaniasis is a vector-borne neglected tropical disease caused by Leishmania protozoa that are transmitted to mammalian hosts by and infected sand fl y. Th e infection is associated to disticnt clinical manifestations which includes cutaneous, mucocutaneous and visceral lesions. Th e systemic visceral leishmaniasis is the most severe form of the disese and is considered the second cause of mortality and fourth in morbidity among tropical diseases. IFN-γ-producing T- cells are involved with protection against the disease. Here in, we show that the expression of the sialoglicoprotein CD43 on T-cells defi nes major intrahepatic T-cell subsets with a pro-infl ammatory cytokine profi le during experimental visceral leishmaniasis. We found that mice lacking CD43 display increased susceptibility to the infection by Leishmania (L) chagasi showing higher levels of parasite burden as compared to wild-type mice. Th e increased susceptibility of CD43−/− mice is associated with weakened DTH response and reduced levels of IgG2a antibodies to leishmanial antigen. We further show that expression of CD43 is determinant for increased levels of IFN-γ secretion by activated splenocytes. Our fi ndings indicate a role of CD43 in the development of host resistance to visceral leishmaniasis.