Journal article
Comparison of CD4 T cell response in Plasmodium falciparum and vivax malaria
- Abstract:
-
Background:
Plasmodium falciparum and vivax are parasites responsible for most malaria cases globally. In areas where these species co-exist, individuals gain protection from P vivax more rapidly, and important biological differences between species may impact the immune response. CD4 T cells are key drivers of immunity to malaria, both as effector and helper cells, with T-follicular helper (Tfh) cells having key roles in antibody development. Comparative studies on CD4 T cell responses between these species are limited.
Methods:
We assessed CD4 T cells in adults with either P falciparum or P vivax malaria. Activation and proliferation of CD4 T cells were measured ex vivo, and functional capacity was determined by intracellular cytokine staining using flow cytometry.
Results:
The phenotype, activation and proliferation of CD4 T cells and effector CD4 T cell subsets were comparable between species. However, within the peripheral (p)Tfh cell compartment, there was some evidence for species-dependent activation with relative increased pTfh1 cells in P falciparum infection. Additionally, in P falciparum, increased IL-10 production was detected, including within IL-21 producing CD4 T cells.
Conclusions: While activation and function of CD4 T cells in malaria are largely comparable, some species-dependent responses are detected within the pTfh cell compartment that may impact antibody development. This study directly compares CD4 and T follicular helper cell responses in acute Plasmodium falciparum and vivax infections, identifying largely shared activation profiles but distinct responses associated with peripheral T follicular helper 1 and IL-10 in P falciparum malaria.
- Publication status:
- Published
- Peer review status:
- Peer reviewed
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(Preview, Version of record, pdf, 1.2MB, Terms of use)
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(Preview, Supplementary materials, pdf, 3.1MB, Terms of use)
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- Publisher copy:
- 10.1093/infdis/jiag115
Authors
+ National Health and Medical Research Council
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- Funder identifier:
- https://ror.org/011kf5r70
- Grant:
- 1125656
- 1141632
- 1135820
+ Menzies School of Health Research
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- Funder identifier:
- https://ror.org/006mbby82
+ Channel 7 Children's Research Foundation
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- Funder identifier:
- https://ror.org/0592vaq06
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- Journal:
- Journal of Infectious Diseases More from this journal
- Volume:
- 233
- Issue:
- 4
- Pages:
- e891–e901
- Place of publication:
- United States
- Publication date:
- 2026-02-27
- Acceptance date:
- 2026-02-18
- DOI:
- EISSN:
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1537-6613
- ISSN:
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0022-1899
- Pmid:
-
41757944
- Language:
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English
- Keywords:
- Pubs id:
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2382339
- Local pid:
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pubs:2382339
- Deposit date:
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2026-03-30
- ARK identifier:
Terms of use
- Copyright holder:
- Nalubega et al.
- Copyright date:
- 2026
- Rights statement:
- ©The Author(s) 2026. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Infectious Diseases Society of America. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons AttributionNonCommercial-NoDerivs licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial reproduction and distribution of the work, in any medium, provided the original work is not altered or transformed in any way, and that the work is properly cited.
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