HOMEPRODUCTSCOMPANYCONTACTFAQResearchDictionaryPharmaSign Up FREE or Login

Distribution of Peripheral Memory T Follicular Helper Cells in Patients with Schistosomiasis Japonica.

AbstractBACKGROUND:
Schistosomiasis is a helminthic disease that affects more than 200 million people. An effective vaccine would be a major step towards eliminating the disease. Studies suggest that T follicular helper (Tfh) cells provide help to B cells to generate the long-term humoral immunity, which would be a crucial component of successful vaccines. Thus, understanding the biological characteristics of Tfh cells in patients with schistosomiasis, which has never been explored, is essential for vaccine design.
METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS:
In this study, we investigated the biological characteristics of peripheral memory Tfh cells in schistosomiasis patients by flow cytometry. Our data showed that the frequencies of total and activated peripheral memory Tfh cells in patients were significantly increased during Schistosoma japonicum infection. Moreover, Tfh2 cells, which were reported to be a specific subpopulation to facilitate the generation of protective antibodies, were increased more greatly than other subpopulations of total peripheral memory Tfh cells in patients with schistosomiasis japonica. More importantly, our result showed significant correlations of the percentage of Tfh2 cells with both the frequency of plasma cells and the level of IgG antibody. In addition, our results showed that the percentage of T follicular regulatory (Tfr) cells was also increased in patients with schistosomiasis.
CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE:
Our report is the first characterization of peripheral memory Tfh cells in schistosomasis patients, which not only provides potential targets to improve immune response to vaccination, but also is important for the development of vaccination strategies to control schistosomiasis.
AuthorsXiaojun Chen, Wei Li, Yang Zhang, Xian Song, Lei Xu, Zhipeng Xu, Sha Zhou, Jifeng Zhu, Xin Jin, Feng Liu, Gengxin Chen, Chuan Su
JournalPLoS neglected tropical diseases (PLoS Negl Trop Dis) Vol. 9 Issue 8 Pg. e0004015 ( 2015) ISSN: 1935-2735 [Electronic] United States
PMID26284362 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)
Topics
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Animals
  • B-Lymphocytes (immunology)
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Immunologic Memory
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Schistosoma japonicum (physiology)
  • Schistosomiasis japonica (immunology, parasitology)
  • T-Lymphocytes, Helper-Inducer (immunology)

Join CureHunter, for free Research Interface BASIC access!

Take advantage of free CureHunter research engine access to explore the best drug and treatment options for any disease. Find out why thousands of doctors, pharma researchers and patient activists around the world use CureHunter every day.
Realize the full power of the drug-disease research graph!


Choose Username:
Email:
Password:
Verify Password:
Enter Code Shown: