The role of T lymphocytes in human acute malaria remains under debate. The kinetics of T cell activation in acute malaria were investigated, with emphasis on CTLA-4 (CD152). In patients with malaria, CTLA-4 expression by CD4 αβ T lymphocytes was highly increased. After initiation of antiplasmodial treatment, it returned to control values within a few days. γδ T cells, which also are implicated in the pathogenesis of human malaria, did not express CTLA-4. The level of CTLA-4 expression at the time of hospital admission was correlated positively with other markers of disease severity - the peak of the parasitemia and the peak of serum neopterin levels. These results show that CTLA-4 is a sensitive and dynamic marker for T lymphocyte activation. Its strong increase in acute malaria argues for the involvement of T cells in the human immune response to plasmodia.
CITATION STYLE
Schlotmann, T., Waase, I., Jülch, C., Klauenberg, U., Müller-Myhsok, B., Dietrich, M., … Bröker, B. M. (2000). CD4 αβ T lymphocytes express high levels of the T lymphocyte antigen CTLA-4 (CD152) in acute malaria. Journal of Infectious Diseases, 182(1), 367–370. https://doi.org/10.1086/315690
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