Expression of PD-1/LAG-3 and cytokine production by CD4⁺ T cells during infection with Plasmodium parasites

CD4(+) T cells play critical roles in protection against the blood stage of malarial infection; however, their uncontrolled activation can be harmful to the host. In this study, in which rodent models of Plasmodium parasites were used, the expression of inhibitory receptors on activated CD4(+) T cells and their cytokine production was compared with their expression in a bacterial and another protozoan infection. CD4(+) T cells from mice infected with P. yoelii 17XL, P yoelii 17XNL, P. chabaudi, P. vinckei and P. berghei expressed the inhibitory receptors, PD-1 and LAG-3, as early as 6 days after infection, whereas those from either Listeria monocytogenes- or Leishmania major-infected mice did not. In response to T-cell receptor stimulation, CD4(+) T cells from mice infected with all the pathogens under study produced high concentrations of IFN-γ. IL-2 production was reduced in mice infected with Plasmodium species, but not in those infected with Listeria or Leishmania. In vitro blockade of the interaction between PD-1 and its ligands resulted in increased IFN-γ production in response to Plasmodium antigens, implying that PD-1 expressed on activated CD4(+) T cells actively inhibits T cell immune responses. Studies using Myd88(-/-), Trif(-/-) and Irf3(-/-) mice showed that induction of these CD4(+) T cells and their ability to produce cytokines is largely independent of TLR signaling. These studies suggest that expression of the inhibitory receptors PD-1 and LAG-3 on CD4(+) T cells and their reduced IL-2 production are common characteristic features of Plasmodium infection.