Navegando por Palavras-chave "NK T cells"

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    Lower numbers of circulating natural killer T (NK T) cells in individuals with human T lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) associated neurological disease
    (Wiley-Blackwell, 2009-12-01) Ndhlovu, L. C.; Snyder-Cappione, J. E.; Carvalho, Karina Inacio [UNIFESP]; Leal, F. E.; Loo, C. P.; Bruno, F. R.; Jha, A. R.; Devita, D.; Hasenkrug, A. M.; Barbosa, H. M. R. [UNIFESP]; Segurado, A. C.; Nixon, D. F.; Murphy, E. L.; Kallas, Esper Georges [UNIFESP]; Univ Calif San Francisco; Blood Syst Res Inst; Universidade de São Paulo (USP); Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP)
    Human T lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) infects 10-20 million people worldwide. the majority of infected individuals are asymptomatic; however, approximately 3% develop the debilitating neurological disease HTLV-1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP). There is also currently no cure, vaccine or effective therapy for HTLV-1 infection, and the mechanisms for progression to HAM/TSP remain unclear. NK T cells are an immunoregulatory T cell subset whose frequencies and effector functions are associated critically with immunity against infectious diseases. We hypothesized that NK T cells are associated with HAM/TSP progression. We measured NK T cell frequencies and absolute numbers in individuals with HAM/TSP infection from two cohorts on two continents: São Paulo, Brazil and San Francisco, CA, USA, and found significantly lower levels when compared with healthy subjects and/or asymptomatic carriers. Also, the circulating NK T cell compartment in HAM/TSP subjects is comprised of significantly more CD4(+) and fewer CD8(+) cells than healthy controls. These findings suggest that lower numbers of circulating NK T cells and enrichment of the CD4(+) NK T subset are associated with HTLV-1 disease progression.