Cutting Edge: Attrition of Plasmodium-Specific Memory CD8 T Cells Results in Decreased Protection That Is Rescued by Booster Immunization
Open Access
- 1 April 2011
- journal article
- Published by The American Association of Immunologists in The Journal of Immunology
- Vol. 186 (7), 3836-3840
- https://doi.org/10.4049/jimmunol.1003949
Abstract
Sterile protection against infection with Plasmodium sporozoites requires high numbers of memory CD8 T cells. However, infections with unrelated pathogens, as may occur in areas endemic to malaria, can dramatically decrease pre-existing memory CD8 T cells. It remains unknown whether unrelated infections will compromise numbers of Plasmodium-specific memory CD8 T cells and thus limit the duration of antimalarial immunity generated by subunit vaccination. We show that P. berghei circumsporozoite-specific memory CD8 T cells underwent significant attrition in numbers in mice subjected to unrelated infections. Attrition was associated with preferential loss of effector memory CD8 T cells and reduced immunity to P. berghei sporozoite challenge. However, and of relevance to deployment of Plasmodium vaccines in areas endemic to malaria, attrition of memory CD8 T cells was reversed by booster immunization, which restored protection. These data suggest that regular booster immunizations may be required to sustain protective vaccine-induced Plasmodium-specific memory CD8 T cells in the face of attrition caused by unrelated infections.Keywords
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