In the presence of Trypanosoma cruzi antigens, activated peripheral T lymphocytes retained in the liver induce a proinflammatory phenotypic and functional shift in intrahepatic T lymphocyte.

In secondary lymphoid organs, pathogen-derived and endogenous danger molecules are recognized by pattern recognition receptors, leading to adaptive proinflammatory immune responses. This conceptual rule does not apply directly to the liver, as hepatic immune cells tolerate gut-derived bacterial molecules from the flora. Therefore, the recognition of danger and proinflammatory stimuli differs between the periphery and the liver. However, the tolerant nature of the liver must be overcome in the case of infections or cancer, for example. The central paradigm is the basis for danger recognition and the balance between inflammation and tolerance in the liver. Here, we observed functional integration, with activated peripheral T lymphocytes playing a role in the induction of a proinflammatory environment in the liver in the presence of Trypanosoma cruzi antigens. When only parasite extract was orally administered, it led to the up-regulation of hepatic tolerance markers, but oral treatment plus adoptively transferred activated splenic T lymphocytes led to a proinflammatory response. Moreover, treated/recipient mice showed increased levels of TNF, IFN-γ, IL-6, and CCL2 in the liver and increased numbers of effector and/or effector memory T lymphocytes and F4/80+ cells. There was a reduction in FoxP3+ Treg cells, NKT cells, and γδ T lymphocytes with increased liver damage in the presence of activated peripheral T cells. Our results show that the induction of a proinflammatory liver response against T. cruzi danger molecules is at least partially dependent on cooperation with activated peripheral T cells.