Abstract
The objective of this study was to understand the categorical function of CD4+CD56+ and CD8+CD56+ NKT cells in human visceral leishmaniasis. These cell populations were significantly deregulated in human peripheral blood during VL. The in vitro experiments showed that CD4+NKT cells, but not CD8+NKT cells, migrated towards the Leishmania donovani infection site. Additionally, CD4+NKT cells from VL subjects primarily expressed CD25+Foxp3 and IL-10 compared with healthy subjects. However, CD8+NKT cells expressed primarily IFN-γ and killer cell immunoglobulin receptor compared with healthy subjects. Because the ratio of CD4+ and CD8+NKT cells was 1:10, adoptive transfer of CD3+CD56+ NKT cells effectively reduced the L. donovani burden in infected macrophages. This study concludes that although CD4+NKT cells are pathogenic and accumulate at the infection site, CD8+NKT cells may be protective in contact with target cells.
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