Abstract
The immunodominant CD4 T cell epitope region, Th2R, of the circumsporozoite protein of Plasmodium falciparum is highly polymorphic. Such variation might be utilized by the parasite to escape from or interfere with CD4 T cell effector functions. Here, we show that costimulation with naturally occurring altered peptide ligands (APL) can induce a rapid change from IFNgamma production to the immunosuppressive mediator interleukin 10 (IL-10). This mechanism may contribute to the low levels of T cell responses observed to this pathogen in malaria-endemic areas.
Publication types
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Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
MeSH terms
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Adult
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Amino Acid Sequence
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Animals
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Antigens, Protozoan / chemistry
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Antigens, Protozoan / immunology
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CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / immunology*
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Cells, Cultured
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Cross Reactions
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Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte / physiology*
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Humans
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Immune Tolerance*
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Immunodominant Epitopes / physiology
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Interferon-gamma / immunology
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Interleukin-10 / physiology*
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Lymphocyte Activation / immunology
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Molecular Sequence Data
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Peptide Fragments / immunology
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Peptide Fragments / pharmacology
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Plasmodium falciparum / immunology*
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Protozoan Proteins / immunology
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Protozoan Proteins / pharmacology
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Sequence Alignment
Substances
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Antigens, Protozoan
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Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte
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Immunodominant Epitopes
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Peptide Fragments
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Protozoan Proteins
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circumsporozoite protein, Protozoan
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Interleukin-10
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Interferon-gamma