TNF-expressing CD1d+ monocytes are associated with the activation of CD4- CD8- T cells in patients with Chagas cardiomyopathy.

Background: Chagas disease cardiomyopathy is characterized by intense immune activation, with double-negative (DN) T cells as key producers of inflammatory cytokines. CD1d is an antigen-presenting molecule involved in the activation of DN T cells.

Methods: We characterized CD1d+ monocytes from patients with cardiac (CARD) and indeterminate (IND) disease using flow cytometry.

Blocking activation of CD4CD8 T cells modulates their cytotoxic potential and decreases the expression of inflammatory and chemotactic receptors.

CD4CD8 (double negative - DN) T cells represent a small fraction of circulating T lymphocytes but are a major source of pro-inflammatory cytokines in patients with infectious diseases, including chronic Chagas cardiomyopathy (CCC), one of the deadliest cardiopathies known. Chagas disease is caused by an infection with the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi and can lead to either an asymptomatic form or a high-mortality cardiac disease. While circulating DN T cells represent a major inflammatory cytokine-expressing cell population in Chagas disease, their potential to be recruited to the heart and to perform cytotoxicity has not been determined.