Identification of Two Distinct Subpopulations ofLeishmania major-Specific T Helper 2 Cells

Abstract
It is widely accepted that a strong Th2 response is responsible for nonhealingLeishmania majorinfections in BALB/c mice. This Th2 response has been thoroughly documented by measuring the levels of Th2 cytokines produced by CD4+T cells present in the lymphoid organs by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and PCR. However, the cytokine profile ofL. major-specific Th2 cells has never been determined. In this study, we used the recently described Th2 marker T1/ST2 to characterize Th2 cells during the course of nonhealingL. majorinfection. We analyzed the intracellular cytokine profile of CD4+T1/ST2+T cells and showed that they clearly displayed a Th2 phenotype, as they expressed interleukin 4 (IL-4), IL-10, and IL-5. In addition, we detected another population of Th2 cells among the CD4+T1/ST2T cells that expressed IL-4 and IL-10 but excluded IL-5. In summary, we show here that two type 2 subpopulations are present in the lymphoid organs ofL. major-infected BALB/c mice; Th2 cells from both subsets expressed IL-4 and IL-10, but they could be distinguished by their expression of IL-5 and T1/ST2.

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