Vβ profiles in African children with acute cerebral or uncomplicated malaria: very focused changes among a remarkable global stability

Abstract

T cells are thought to play a critical role in cerebral malaria pathogenesis. However, available evidences are restricted to rodent models in which Vβ specific T cell expansion has been associated with neurological syndrome suggesting involvement of superantigens or dominant antigens. Using flow cytometry, we studied the peripheral VβT cell repertoire of Ghanaian children with cerebral malaria, uncomplicated malaria and asymptomatic control children, to look for either expansion or deletion of specific Vβ associated with cerebral malaria. At admission, the general pattern of the repertoire of the patients was very similar, with no major distortion compared to the control group a part a significant increase of the frequency of the Vβ21.3 subset correlating with disease severity and attributed to the CD4 subset. During convalescence very limited fluctuations were observed including a significant decrease of the Vβ21.3 subset and increase of the Vβ20 subset, a subset not detected at admission. The remarkable stability of the Vβ repertoire observed in acute malaria either cerebral or uncomplicated argues against the idea that cerebral malaria would result from a T cell-mediated inflammatory shock syndrome driven by some dominant super-antigenic activity(ies). The significance of the reproducible increase of the CD4 + Vβ21.3T cell subset deserves further investigations.