A study on delayed hypersensitivity to rotavirus in infancy and childhood

Abstract

The T-cell responsiveness to rotavirus antigen and phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) together with T-cell total and subsets quantitation was carried out in 50 non-diarrhoeal and six rotavirus diarrhoeal subjects. All individuals in the non-diarrhoeal group responded well to PHA and had normal values for T-cell subsets. The number of positive responders to the rotavirus antigen increased gradually from 0% in the newborns to 92% in older children. The increasing risk of exposure to rotavirus infection is thought to be a chief cause of this age-related variation. All the rotavirus diarrhoeal patients responded well to the rotavirus antigen, indicating a potent test system. The T-cell responses to PHA and the T-cell subsets were significantly low. This could be due to temporary T-cell suppression that may accompany viral infection. Our results are discussed in the context of previous studies.

T-Cell Responses after Rotavirus Infection or Vaccination in Children: A Systematic Review

“…Children with acute rotavirus diarrhea had more positive and significantly higher T-cell proliferation to rotavirus antigen compared to healthy children. Among healthy children, T-cell proliferation was absent in newborns, minimally present in children aged <6 months but became more commonly detected in older age groups of children [ 22 , 25 , 26 , 28 , 37 ]. In contrast to this, however, one study also reported evidence of detectable T-cell proliferation in newborn children [ 28 ].…”

“…Five studies reported a lower circulating frequency of CD4 + and CD8 + T-cells in response to acute rotavirus infection. In one study, while healthy children had normal proportions of CD3 + , CD4 + , and CD8 + T-cell subsets, children with acute rotavirus diarrhea had selectively lowered CD4 + T-cell proportion and a low CD4 + :CD8 + T-cell ratio [ 22 ]. A case study of a single child with rotavirus diarrhea showed a depressed CD4 + T-cell frequency and CD4 + :CD8 + ratio in an acute phase that persisted up to one-month post-infection but normalized by convalescent period [ 23 ].…”

“…Elaraby et al, 1992 [22] RV-AGE: (n = 6), age NR Healthy: birth (n = 14), 1 to <12 mos (n = 14), 12 to <24 mos (n = 10), and 24 to <60 mos (n = 12).…”