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Springer, Seminars in Immunopathology, 3(37), p. 233-238, 2015

DOI: 10.1007/s00281-015-0481-9

Elsevier, Current Opinion in Immunology, 4(21), p. 385-390, 2009

DOI: 10.1016/j.coi.2009.07.006

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CD8+ T cells in Trypanosoma cruzi infection

Journal article published in 2009 by Angel M. Padilla, Juan M. Bustamante ORCID, Rick L. Tarleton
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.

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Abstract

CD8(+) T cells have emerged as crucial players in the control of a number of protozoan pathogens, including Trypanosoma cruzi, the agent of human Chagas disease. The recent identification of the dominant targets of T. cruzi-specific T cells has allowed investigators to follow the generation of and document the functionality of T cell responses in both mice and humans. Although slow to develop in the early stages of the infection, T. cruzi-specific CD8(+) T cells reach prodigious levels and remain highly functional throughout chronic infections in mice. Following drug-induced cure during either the acute or chronic stage, these immunodominant T cells persist as stable, antigen-independent memory populations. T. cruzi-specific CD8(+) T cells in humans are less-well-studied but appear to lose functionality and decline in numbers in these decades-long infections. Changes in the frequency of parasite-specific T cell upon therapeutic treatment in humans may provide a new metric for determining treatment efficacy.