Human Chagas' disease, caused by the protozoan Trypanosoma
cruzi, is associated with pathological processes whose
mechanisms are not known. To address this question, T cell
lines were developed from chronic chagasic patients peripheral
blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and cloned. These T cell clones
(TCC) were analyzed phenotypically with monoclonal antibodies
by the use of a fluorescence microscope. The surface phenotype
of the TCC from the asymptomatic patient were predominantly
CD4 positive (86%). On the contrary, the surface phenotype CD8
was predominant in the TCC from the patients suffering from
cardiomegaly with right bundle branch block (83%), bradycardia
with megacolon (75%) and bradycardia (75%). Future studies
will be developed in order to identify the antigens eliciting
these T cell subpopulations.
