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

每年约有200万人死于疟疾感染的并发症。这些致命并发症中最常见的形式被称为脑型疟疾。由于不完全了解的原因，患者的大脑会受到影响。感染后早期会有行为变化，进展到昏迷。约20%因感染疟疾而进入昏迷并接受抗疟疾药物治疗的人死亡，其余人康复，有时伴有轻微的神经功能障碍。解释脑型疟疾的一种理论是，它是由人体自身对寄生虫的免疫反应引起的。利用小鼠的实验模型，我们将找出被称为CD8+T淋巴细胞的免疫系统细胞是否在导致脑部并发症方面起到重要作用。我们还将发现被称为趋化因子的信使分子是否重要。从这项工作中，我们希望找到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.