Peculiarities of phenotypic distribution of lymphocytes and their activation markers in patients with infection-based inflammatory

Abstract

Herpes simplex virus has the ability to persist during all the life in the nervous ganglia and cells of the immune system with periodic reactivation and the development of a wide range of clinical manifestations. Clinical manifestations depend on the immune status of the host- from typical vesicular rashes on the red border of the lips, to the development of serious neurological complications, sometimes fatal (usually in immunocompromised people). Immunocompromised patients include patients with congenital immunodeficiencies, HIV infection, iatrogenic immunosuppression after transplantation, as well as patients with systemic connective tissue diseases who receive long-term immunosuppressive therapy. On the other hand, herpesviruses are triggers, under the influence of which there may be a failure of self-tolerance in genetically predisposed individuals. Thus, there is a kind of «vicious circle», when herpes becomes recurrent in people with the existing immunodeficiency, and then the virus itself maintains this condition by persistence and replication in the nerve ganglia and immunocytes. Aim. Assessment of lymphocyte status by lymphocyte phenotyping and determination of activation markers activity in patients with activated HSV 1/2 infection in combination with Connective Tissue Disease (CTD) and compare with groups of patients with CTD only, patients with only activated HSV 1/2 infection and practically healthy individuals. Materials and methods. We monitored 110 patients: 34 individuals with reactive herpes simplex virus infection, 40 individuals with systemic connective tissue disease, and 36 individuals with a combination of reactive herpes simplex virus infection and CTD. Conclusions. Defects in the humoral and cellular parts of the immune system in patients with CTD can provoke inadequate immune protection against pathogenic microorganisms, and lifelong persistence of HSV type 1/2 in immune system cells can lead to death or decreased functional activity of immune system cells and secondary immunodeficiency.

Keywords

• herpes simplex virus
• systemic connective tissue diseases
• lymphocyte pool