Rapid Fire Presentation 8th International Conference on Plasmodium vivax Research 2022

Immunological profile and mechanism of action of γδT cells in Plasmodium vivax infection (#212)

Guilherme Castro 1 2 , Rafael Polidoro 3 4 , Camila Barbosa 1 , Luna Lacerda 1 , Ricardo Gazzinelli 1 2 , Judy Lieberman 3 4 , Caroline Junqueira 1 3 4
  1. Immunopathology, Instituto René Rachou, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brasil
  2. Department of Biochemistry and Immunology, UFMG, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brasil
  3. Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
  4. Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

The immune response in malaria involves both innate and adaptive immunity cells, and both must overcome the different strategies imposed by the infectious agent. In the context of innate immunity, we can highlight NK, NKT cells and gamma delta T cells (γδ T), all of these molecules are capable of secreting cytokines, producing cytotoxic granules and in theory killing cells infected by Plasmodium. Therefore, our group has been studying the relevance of these cell types, especially γδ T cells in Plasmodium spp infection. In 2021, a study by our group was able to show for the first time the mechanism of action by which a subtype of γδ T lymphocyte is able to lyse and phagocytize both merozoites and infected erythrocytes in an infection caused by P.falciparum. Thus, we can hypothesize that these cells have a similar role in the infection caused by P.vivax, and some preliminary data obtained point out a great importance of γδ T cells in the blood of patients infected with P.vivax. These lymphocytes have a more activated profile in infected individuals, as well as a greater presence of cytotoxic granules, and functional assays have demonstrated the ability of γδ T cells to lyse reticulocytes infected with P.vivax. Altogether our data show the role of γδ T cells in P.falciparum infection and how these cells recognize, kill and phagocytize infected erythrocytes, and some preliminary data support the hypothesis that γδ T cells have a similar role in P.vivax infection.