Rahamani Abu Abudu, Horn Sacha, Ritter Manuel, Feichtner Anja, Osei-Mensah Jubin, Serwaa Opoku Vera, Batsa Debrah Linda, Marandu Thomas F, Haule Antelmo, Mhidze Jacklina, Ngenya Abdallah, Demetrius Max, Klarmann-Schulz Ute, Hoelscher Michael, Geldmacher Christof, Hoerauf Achim, Kalinga Akili, Debrah Alexander Y, Kroidl Inge
Filariasis Unit, Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research in Tropical Medicine (KCCR), UPO, PMB, Kumasi 00233, Ghana.
German-West African Centre for Global Health and Pandemic Prevention (G-WAC), Partner Site, UPO, PMB, Kumasi 00233, Ghana.
Pathogens. 2023 Jun 7;12(6):809. doi: 10.3390/pathogens12060809.
Chronic lymphedema caused by infection of is a disfiguring disease that leads to physical disability, stigmatization, and reduced quality of life. The edematous changes occur mainly on the lower extremities and can progress over time due to secondary bacterial infections. In this study, we characterized participants with filarial lymphedema from Ghana and Tanzania as having low (stage 1-2), intermediate (stage 3-4), or advanced (stage 5-7) lymphedema to determine CD4 T cell activation patterns and markers associated with immune cell exhaustion. A flow cytometry-based analysis of peripheral whole blood revealed different T cell phenotypes within participants with different stages of filarial lymphedema. In detail, increased frequencies of CD4HLA-DRCD38 T cells were associated with higher stages of filarial lymphedema in patients from Ghana and Tanzania. In addition, significantly increased frequencies of CCR5CD4 T cells were seen in Ghanaian participants with advanced LE stages, which was not observed in the Tanzanian cohort. The frequencies of CD8PD-1 T cells were augmented in individuals with higher stage lymphedema in both countries. These findings show distinct activation and exhaustion patterns in lymphedema patients but reveal that immunological findings differ between West and East African countries.
由[感染源未明确]感染引起的慢性淋巴水肿是一种毁容性疾病，会导致身体残疾、污名化和生活质量下降。水肿变化主要发生在下肢，由于继发性细菌感染，随着时间的推移可能会进展。在这项研究中，我们将来自加纳和坦桑尼亚的丝虫性淋巴水肿参与者分为轻度（1-2期）、中度（3-4期）或重度（5-7期）淋巴水肿，以确定与免疫细胞耗竭相关的CD4 T细胞激活模式和标志物。基于流式细胞术的外周全血分析揭示了丝虫性淋巴水肿不同阶段参与者体内不同的T细胞表型。具体而言，加纳和坦桑尼亚患者中，CD4HLA-DRCD38 T细胞频率增加与丝虫性淋巴水肿的更高阶段相关。此外，在加纳重度淋巴水肿阶段的参与者中观察到CCR5CD4 T细胞频率显著增加，而在坦桑尼亚队列中未观察到这一现象。在这两个国家，CD8PD-1 T细胞频率在淋巴水肿程度较高的个体中均有所增加。这些发现显示了淋巴水肿患者独特的激活和耗竭模式，但也揭示了西非和东非国家在免疫学方面的差异。
