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The role of cluster of differentiation 39 (CD39) and purinergic signaling pathway in viral infections

Research Abstract

CD39 is a marker of immune cells such as lymphocytes and monocytes. The CD39/CD73 pathway hydrolyzes ATP into adenosine, which has a potent immunosuppressive effect. CD39 regulates the function of a variety of immunologic cells through the purinergic signaling pathways. CD39+Tcells have been implicated in viral infections, including Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Cytomegalovirus (CMV), viral hepatitis, and Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) infec tions. The expression of CD39 is an indicator of lymphocyte exhaustion, which develops during chronicity. During RNA viral infections, the CD39 marker can profile the populations of CD4+ T lymphocytes into two populations, T-effector lymphocytes, and T-regulatory lymphocytes, where CD39 is predominantly expressed on the T-regulatory cells. The level of CD39 in T lymphocytes can predict the disease progression, antiviral immune responses, and the response to antiviral drugs. Besides, the percentage of CD39 and CD73 in B lymphocytes and monocytes can affect the status of viral infections. In this review, we investigate the impact of CD39 and CD39-expressing cells on viral infections and how the frequency and percentage of CD39+ immunologic cells determine disease prognosis.

Research Authors
Alaa Elsaghir, Ehsan MW El-Sabaa, Abdulrahman K Ahmed, Sayed F Abdelwahab, Ibrahim M Sayed, Mohamed A El-Mokhtar
Research Date
Research File
Research Journal
Pathogens
Research Pages
279
Research Publisher
MDPI
Research Rank
Q2
Research Vol
12
Research Website
https://www.mdpi.com/2123356
Research Year
2023