Filarial Lymphedema Patients Are Characterized by Exhausted CD4⁺ T Cells.

ABSTRACT: Worldwide, more than 200 million people are infected with filariae which can cause severe symptoms leading to reduced quality of life and contribute to disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). In particular, lymphatic filariasis (LF) caused by Wuchereria bancrofti can lead to lymphedema (LE) and consequently presents a serious health problem. To understand why only a fraction of the infected individuals develop pathology, it is essential to understand how filariae regulate host immunity. The central role of T cells for immunity against filariae has been shown in several studies. However, there is little knowledge about T cell exhaustion, which causes T cell dysfunction and impaired immune responses, in this group of individuals. Recently, we showed that LE patients from Ghana harbor

SUBMITTER: Horn S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8770542 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature