Heart non-specific effector CD4⁺ T cells protect from postinflammatory fibrosis and cardiac dysfunction in experimental autoimmune myocarditis.

ABSTRACT: Heart-specific CD4⁺ T cells have been implicated in development and progression of myocarditis in mice and in humans. Here, using mouse models of experimental autoimmune myocarditis (EAM) we investigated the role of heart non-specific CD4⁺ T cells in the progression of the disease. Heart non-specific CD4⁺ T cells were obtained from DO11.10 mice expressing transgenic T cell receptor recognizing chicken ovalbumin. We found that heart infiltrating CD4⁺ T cells expressed exclusively effector (T_eff) phenotype in the EAM model and in hearts of patients with lymphocytic myocarditis. Adoptive transfer experiments showed that while heart-specific T_eff infiltrated the heart shortly after injection, heart non-specific T_eff e

SUBMITTER: Zarak-Crnkovic M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6925074 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature