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Myeloid derived suppressor cells (MDSC) is a heterogeneous subset of immature and mature cells of the myeloid lineage, undergoing expansion during pathologic conditions, and able to perform strong immune suppressive functions. It has been shown that cryopreservation selectively impacts the polimorphonuclear (PMN) MDSC viability and recovery, and alters the correct analysis of MDSC subsets. In laboratory practice, cryopreservation is often inevitable, in particular in multicenter studies where samples have to be shipped to a centralized laboratory. Aim of the present work was to set out a new protocol to evaluate the frequency of PMN-MDSC in thawed cells by flow-cytometry. PBMC were isolated from HIV+ patients and healthy donors, and were cryopreserved for at least ten days. After thawing, two different protocols were used: 1. standard protocol (SP) consisting of staining with the antibodies mix and then fixing with formalin 1%; 2. thawed protocol (TP) in which fixation foregoes the staining with the antibodies mix. Results showed that PMN-MDSC frequency in ex vivo PBMC evaluated by means TP was comparable to that analysed by SP, indicating that the protocol did not alter PMN-MDSC quantification in ex vivo cells. We then demonstrated that PMN-MDSC frequency in thawed PBMC tested by TP was almost identical to the frequency obtained in ex vivo cells evaluated by using SP. However, we observed that after three hours of culture post-thawing, PMN-MDSC were not assessable anymore with both SP and TP. In conclusion, we herein demonstrated that fixing PBMC soon after thawing and before antibody staining allows preservation of PMN-MDSC integrity and a reliable cells quantification. Thus, it is possible to phenotipically identify PMN-MDSC in cryopreserved PBMC, consenting adequate test precision and accuracy as well as making multicentre research more feasible., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Background: Human Ebola infection is characterized by a paralysis of the immune system. A signature of αβ T cells in fatal Ebola infection has been recently proposed, while the involvement of innate immune cells in the protection/pathogenesis of Ebola infection is unknown. Aim of this study was to analyze γδ T and NK cells in patients from the Ebola outbreak of 2014-2015 occurred in West Africa, and to assess their association with the clinical outcome., Methodology/principal Findings: Nineteen Ebola-infected patients were enrolled at the time of admission to the Ebola Treatment Centre in Guinea. Patients were divided in two groups on the basis of the clinical outcome. The analysis was performed by using multiparametric flow cytometry established by the European Mobile Laboratory in the field. A low frequency of Vδ2 T-cells was observed during Ebola infection, independently from the clinical outcome. Moreover, Vδ2 T-cells from Ebola patients massively expressed CD95 apoptotic marker, suggesting the involvement of apoptotic mechanisms in Vδ2 T-cell loss. Interestingly, Vδ2 T-cells from survivors expressed an effector phenotype and presented a lower expression of the CTLA-4 exhaustion marker than fatalities, suggesting a role of effector Vδ2 T-cells in the protection. Furthermore, patients with fatal Ebola infection were characterized by a lower NK cell frequency than patients with non fatal infection. In particular, both CD56bright and CD56dim NK frequency were very low both in fatal and non fatal infections, while a higher frequency of CD56neg NK cells was associated to non-fatal infections. Finally, NK activation and expression of NKp46 and CD158a were independent from clinical outcome., Conclusions/significances: Altogether, the data suggest that both effector Vδ2 T-cells and NK cells may play a role in the complex network of protective response to EBOV infection. Further studies are required to characterize the protective effector functions of Vδ2 and NK cells.

Alteration of γδ T-cell distribution and function in peripheral blood is among the earliest defects during HIV-infection. We asked whether the polyfunctional response could also be affected, and how this impairment could be associated to CD4 T-cell count. To this aim, we performed a cross-sectional study on HIV-infected individuals. In order to evaluate the polyfunctional-Vγ9Vδ2 T-cell response after phosphoantigen-stimulation, we assessed the cytokine/chemokine production and cytotoxicity by flow-cytometry in HAART-treated-HIV+ persons and healthy-donors. During HIV-infection Vγ9Vδ2-polyfunctional response quality is affected, since several Vγ9Vδ2 T-cell subsets resulted significantly lower in HIV+ patients in respect to healthy donors. Interestingly, we found a weak positive correlation between Vγ9Vδ2 T-cell-response and CD4 T-cell counts. By dividing the HIV+ patients according to CD4 T-cell count, we found that Low-CD4 patients expressed a lower number of two Vγ9Vδ2 T-cell subsets expressing MIP-1β in different combinations with other molecules (CD107a/IFNγ) in respect to High-CD4 individuals. Our results show that the Vγ9Vδ2 T-cell-response quality in Low-CD4 patients is specifically affected, suggesting a direct link between innate Vγ9Vδ2 T-cells and CD4 T-cell count. These findings suggest that Vγ9Vδ2 T-cell quality may be indirectly influenced by HAART therapy and could be included in a new therapeutical strategy which would perform an important role in fighting HIV infection.

Gut-associated immune system has been identified as a major battlefield during the early phases of HIV infection. γδ T-cells, deeply affected in number and function after HIV infection, are able to act as a first line of defence against invading pathogens by producing antiviral soluble factors and by killing infected cells. Despite the relevant role in mucosal immunity, few data are available on gut-associated γδ T-cells during HIV infection. Aim of this work was to evaluate how primary (P-HIV) and chronic (C-HIV) HIV infection affects differentiation profile and functionality of circulating and gut-associated Vδ1 and Vδ2 T-cells. In particular, circulating and mucosal cells were isolated from respectively whole blood and residual gut samples from HIV-infected subjects with primary and chronic infection and from healthy donors (HD). Differentiation profile and functionality were analyzed by multiparametric flow cytometry. P-HIV and C-HIV were characterized by an increase in the frequency of effector Vδ1-T cells both in circulating and mucosal compartments. Moreover, during P-HIV mucosal Vδ1 T-cells expressed high levels of CD107a, suggesting a good effector cytotoxic capability of these cells in the early phase of infection that was lost in C-HIV. P-HIV induced an increase in circulating effector Vδ2 T-cells in comparison to C-HIV and HD. Notably, P-HIV as well as HD were characterized by the ability of mucosal Vδ2 T-cells to spontaneously produce IFN-γ that was lost in C-HIV. Altogether, our data showed for the first time a functional capability of mucosal Vδ1 and Vδ2 T-cells during P-HIV that was lost in C-HIV, suggesting exhaustion mechanisms induced by persistent stimulation.

DCs act as sentinel cells against incoming pathogens and represent the most potent antigen presenting cells, having the unique capability to prime naïve T cells. In addition to their role in induction of adaptive immune responses, DC are also able to activate innate cells as γδ T cells; in particular, a reciprocal crosstalk between DC and γδ T cells was demonstrated. However, whether HIV infection may alter DC-Vγ9Vδ2 T cells cross-talk was not yet described. To clarify this issue, we cultured activated Vγ9Vδ2 T cells with HIV infected monocyte derived DC (MoDC). After 5 days we evaluated MoDC phenotype, and Vγ9Vδ2 T cells activation and proliferation. In our model, Vγ9Vδ2 T cells were not able to proliferate in response to HIV-infected MoDC, although an up-regulation of CD69 was observed. Upon phosphoantigens stimulation, Vγ9Vδ2 T cells proliferation and cytokine production were inhibited when cultured with HIV-infected MoDC in a cell-contact dependent way. Moreover, HIV-infected MoDC are not able to up-regulate CD86 molecules when cultured with activated Vγ9Vδ2 T cells, compared with uninfected MoDC. Further, activated Vγ9Vδ2 T cells are not able to induce HLA DR up-regulation and CCR5 down-regulation on HIV-infected MoDC. These data indicate that HIV-infected DC alter the capacity of Vγ9Vδ2 T cells to respond to their antigens, pointing out a new mechanisms of induction of Vγ9Vδ2 T cells anergy carried out by HIV, that could contribute to immune evasion.

Background: The vast majority of the population around the world has always used medicinal plants as first source of health care to fight infectious and non infectious diseases. Most of these medicinal plants may have scientific evidence to be considered in general practice., Objective: The aim of this work was to investigate the antioxidant capacities and anti-inflammatory activities of ethanol extracts of leaves of Cassia alata, Eleusine indica, Carica papaya, Eremomastax speciosa and the stem bark of Polyscias fulva, collected in Cameroon., Methods: Chemiluminescence was used to analyze the antioxidant activities of plant extracts against hydrogen peroxide or superoxide anion. Comet assays were used to analyze the protection against antioxidant-induced DNA damage induced in white blood cells after treating with hydrogen peroxide. Flow cytometry was used to measure γδ T cells proliferation and anti-inflammatory activity of γδ T cells and of immature dendritic cells (imDC) in the presence of different concentrations of plant extracts., Results: Ethanol extracts showed strong antioxidant properties against both hydrogen peroxide and superoxide anion. Cassia alata showed the highest antioxidant activity. The effect of plant extracts on γδ T cells and imDC was evidenced by the dose dependent reduction in TNF-α production in the presence of Cassia alata, Carica papaya, Eremomastax speciosa Eleusine indica, and Polyscias fulva. γδ T cells proliferation was affected to the greatest extent by Polyscias fulva., Conclusion: These results clearly show the antioxidant capacity and anti-inflammatory activities of plant extracts collected in Cameroon. These properties of leaves and stem bark extracts may contribute to the value for these plants in traditional medicine and in general medical practice.