Roles of CD8-positive T cells and chemokines in cerebral malaria.

每年约有200万人死于疟疾感染并发症。这些致命并发症中最常见的形式称为脑型疟疾。由于不完全理解的原因，患者的大脑受到影响。感染后早期有行为变化，进展到昏迷。大约20%的人因疟疾感染而进入昏迷状态，并接受抗疟疾药物治疗，死亡，其余的人康复，有时有轻微的神经损伤。一种解释脑型疟疾的理论是，脑型疟疾是由人体自身对寄生虫的免疫反应引起的。使用小鼠的实验模型，我们将发现称为CD8阳性T淋巴细胞的免疫系统细胞是否在引起大脑并发症中起重要作用。我们还将发现称为趋化因子的信使分子是否重要。从这项工作中，我们希望发现治疗脑型疟疾的更好方法。

About 2 million people die each year from complications of malaria infection. The most common form of these fatal complications is called cerebral malaria. For reasons that are not fully understood, the brain of the patient becomes affected. Early after infection there are behavioural changes, progressing to coma. About 20% of people who enter coma with malaria infection, and are treated with anti-malarial drugs, die and the remainder recover, sometimes with slight neurological impairment. One theory to explain cerebral malaria is that is caused by the body's own immunological response against the parasite. Using an experimental model in mice, we will find out whether the immune system cells called CD8-positive T lymphocytes are important in causing the brain complications. We also will find out whether messenger molecules called chemokines are important. From this work we hope to discover better ways of treating cerebral malaria.