Cryptosporidium parvum-specific CD4 Th1 cells from sensitized donors responding to both fractionated and recombinant antigenic proteins.

T-cell-mediated immunity plays a central role in the host response to Cryptosporidium parvum. Human T-cell clones (TCC) were isolated from peripheral blood mononuclear cells of five healthy donors with prior cryptosporidiosis by use of a C. parvum crude extract, two antigen fractions obtained by ion-exchange chromatography (IEC1 and IEC2), and two recombinant peptides (SA35 and SA40) from C. parvum sporozoites. The T-cell lines derived from the one recently infected donor had a higher proportion (26 to 38%) of T cells exhibiting the gamma/delta T-cell receptor (gamma/delta-TCR) than those from donors who had recovered from cryptosporidiosis several years earlier, suggesting that the gamma/delta T-cell population is involved in the early stage of the infection. The specific TCC had the alpha/beta-TCR, had the phenotype CD45RO(+) CD4(+) CD8(-), and were characterized by either hyperproduction of gamma interferon (IFN-gamma) alone, with a Th1 profile, or IFN-gamma hyperproduction together with interleukin-4 (IL-4) or IL-5 production, with a Th0 profile. SA35, SA40, IEC1, and IEC2 may be considered good targets of the cellular response against C. parvum and may play a role in maintaining the T-cell-mediated memory response to this parasite. Furthermore, the SA35 and SA40 peptides may be regarded as immunodominant antigens involved in the maintenance of the T-cell response in healthy C. parvum-sensitized persons.