Self and parasite-derived peptides selected upon DERAA-bearing HLA-DRB1 alleles activate CD4+ T cells from Chagas cardiomyopathy patients and are associated with ventricular dysfunction.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Human infection with the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi causes Chagas disease, which may lead to a deadly dilated cardiomyopathy resulting from T-cell-mediated inflammation. We found that specific HLA-DRB1 alleles (*0103, *0402, *1301, and *1302) that display the DERAA motif are linked to this severe clinical manifestation of Chagas disease.

Methods

We employed computational analysis, in vitro functional assays, and single-cell RNA sequencing to determine the response of CD4+ T cells from indeterminate (IND) and cardiac (CCC) Chagas patients to peptides selected on DERAA-bearing alleles.

Results

We observed that these alleles display binding affinity towards host-derived peptides with sequence similarity to parasite-derived proteins. These pept

SUBMITTER: Souza-Silva TG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12086171 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature