Xinxiang Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Biology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, 453003 Henan, PR China.
Second Clinical Medical College, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, 453003 Henan, PR China.
Parasite. 2021;28:13. doi: 10.1051/parasite/2021010. Epub 2021 Feb 25.
The surface protein TIGIT (T cell immunoglobulin and immunoreceptor tyrosine-based inhibitory motif (ITIM) domain) has been characterized as an important regulator of cell-mediated immune responses in various infections. However, TIGIT expression in immune cells of mice infected with Toxoplasma gondii has not been investigated. Here, we detected TIGIT expression and related phenotypes by flow cytometry and real-time PCR in splenic and circulatory T cells of mice infected with the T. gondii RH strain. We found that the expression of TIGIT on the surface of CD4 T cells and CD8 T cells from the spleen and peripheral blood mononuclear cells decreased in the early stage, but increased significantly in the late stage of acute T. gondii infection in mice. Importantly, TIGIT expression was positively correlated with lesions in the murine spleen. In addition, T. gondii-specific TIGITT cells in the spleen were activated and transformed into TIGIT T cells. Hematoxylin and eosin staining of spleen sections and real-time PCR showed that the severity of splenic lesions was positively correlated with the T. gondii load. This study demonstrates that acute T. gondii infection can regulate the expression of TIGIT in T cells and affect immune cell function.
T 细胞免疫球蛋白和免疫受体酪氨酸抑制基序（ITIM）结构域家族成员 TIGIT（T 细胞免疫球蛋白和免疫受体酪氨酸抑制基序结构域）已被确定为各种感染中细胞介导免疫反应的重要调节剂。然而，尚未研究感染弓形虫的小鼠免疫细胞中的 TIGIT 表达。在这里，我们通过流式细胞术和实时 PCR 检测了感染弓形虫 RH 株的小鼠脾脏和循环 T 细胞中的 TIGIT 表达和相关表型。我们发现，在感染早期，来自脾脏和外周血单核细胞的 CD4 T 细胞和 CD8 T 细胞表面的 TIGIT 表达降低，但在急性弓形虫感染的晚期显著增加。重要的是，TIGIT 表达与小鼠脾脏中的病变呈正相关。此外，脾脏中的弓形虫特异性 TIGITT 细胞被激活并转化为 TIGIT T 细胞。脾脏切片的苏木精和伊红染色和实时 PCR 显示，脾脏病变的严重程度与弓形虫载量呈正相关。这项研究表明，急性弓形虫感染可以调节 T 细胞中 TIGIT 的表达并影响免疫细胞功能。
