Abstract
Antibody responses are thought to play an important role in control of Schistosoma infections, yet little is known about the phenotype and function of B cells in human schistosomiasis. We set out to characterize B cell subsets and B cell responses to B cell receptor and Toll-like receptor 9 stimulation in Gabonese schoolchildren with Schistosoma haematobium infection. Frequencies of memory B cell (MBC) subsets were increased, whereas naive B cell frequencies were reduced in the schistosome-infected group. At the functional level, isolated B cells from schistosome-infected children showed higher expression of the activation marker CD23 upon stimulation, but lower proliferation and TNF-α production. Importantly, 6-months after 3 rounds of praziquantel treatment, frequencies of naive B cells were increased, MBC frequencies were decreased and with the exception of TNF-α production, B cell responsiveness was restored to what was seen in uninfected children. These data show that S. haematobium infection leads to significant changes in the B cell compartment, both at the phenotypic and functional level.
Highlights
Schistosomiasis is a major parasitic disease of humans in the developing world, with over 200 million people infected worldwide [1]
To gain insight into global B cell function during S. haematobium infection we studied immunoglobulin isotypes and IgG subclasses in serum
Many studies have investigated the types and frequencies of various immune cell subsets, including T cells and DCs [47,48,49], little is known about the human B cell compartment during the course of S. haematobium infection
Summary
Schistosomiasis is a major parasitic disease of humans in the developing world, with over 200 million people infected worldwide [1]. As with other chronic helminth infections, schistosomes cause widespread immune activation and deregulation leading to general T cell hyporesponsiveness supporting the long term survival of the parasite and minimizing immunopathology [2,3,4]. Expression of CD23, the low affinity IgE receptor which can be strongly up-regulated by IL-4 [13], is correlated with development of resistance to Schistosoma reinfection [14,15]. While B lymphocytes support the establishment of the strong Th2 profile associated with helminth infections [16], more recently they have been shown to play an active regulatory role in the course of Schistosoma infections [17] mostly effecting T cell responses
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