Background: Chagas disease cardiomyopathy is characterized by intense immune activation, with double-negative (DN) T cells as key producers of inflammatory cytokines. CD1d is an antigen-presenting molecule involved in the activation of DN T cells.
Methods: We characterized CD1d+ monocytes from patients with cardiac (CARD) and indeterminate (IND) disease using flow cytometry.
Results: CARD CD1d+ monocytes exhibited higher expression of TNF, TNF-receptor, PDL-1, and Fas-L compared to those from IND. These monocytes correlated with TNF expression by DN T-cells in CARD but not in IND.
Conclusions: CD1d+ monocytes from CARD are inflammatory and associated with DN T-cell activation, confirming that CD1d is a target for modulating inflammation in Chagas cardiomyopathy.