Abstract
BackgroundThe immune response to Schistosoma mansoni is characterized by a granulomatous reaction around the parasite eggs that are trapped in the host liver, and this reaction modulates the immune response during the chronic phase of the disease. The typical peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) response of patients during the chronic intestinal phase of infection is characterized by a decreased response to an S. mansoni soluble egg antigen. To obtain a greater understanding of Schistosoma infections, this study investigated the effects of the soluble egg antigen (SEA) and soluble adult worm antigen (SWAP) of S. mansoni on cellular proliferation, cytokine production, and ERK1/2 and Akt phosphorylation in PBMCs from infected (XTO) and egg-negative (NI) individuals living in the same endemic area.MethodsThe activation status was evaluated by cell immunophenotypic staining (cytometry). The cell proliferation assay was by CFSE method. Cytokine detection assay (Th1 and Th2) was by Cytometric Bead and Array phosphorylation status was by ELISA.ResultsThe XTO, NI and BD (blood donor) individuals from an area not endemic for schistosomiasis were compared. The CD4+ T lymphocyte proliferation rate was lower in the XTO group, but not the NI group, after SEA stimulation compared to the BD group. The CD8+ T cell proliferation rate was lower in the XTO group in the unstimulated cultures and after both SEA and SWAP stimulation compared to the BD group. Cytokine analysis after either SEA or SWAP stimulation showed a balanced cytokine pattern in the XTO and NI groups. ERK1/2 and Akt phosphorylation were only marginally detected in all groups; however, a decrease in ERK 1/2 phosphorylation was observed in the SWAP-stimulated XTO group compared to both the NI and BD groups.ConclusionsThe data indicate that SEA-stimulated CD4+ T cells from infected patients have a lower proliferation rate than the same cells from the NI group. Furthermore, we observed that SWAP stimulation influences ERK1/2 phosphorylation in the XTO group.
Highlights
The immune response to Schistosoma mansoni is characterized by a granulomatous reaction around the parasite eggs that are trapped in the host liver, and this reaction modulates the immune response during the chronic phase of the disease
Lymphocyte phenotyping The data showed that there is no difference in the expression of activation markers in the NI and Infected individuals (XTO) groups after culture compared to the blood donors (BD) group (Figure 1)
CD8+ T cell proliferation was lower in the XTO group compared to the BD group after both soluble egg antigen (SEA) and Soluble worm antigen preparation (SWAP) stimulation and in the unstimulated cultures (Figure 2B, 2D and 2F)
Summary
The immune response to Schistosoma mansoni is characterized by a granulomatous reaction around the parasite eggs that are trapped in the host liver, and this reaction modulates the immune response during the chronic phase of the disease. The typical peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) response of patients during the chronic intestinal phase of infection is characterized by a decreased response to an S. mansoni soluble egg antigen. During the chronic phase of S. mansoni infection, the worms and their antigens interact with the host immune response by down-regulating T-cell responses [2,7,8,9]. A typical PBMC response in patients during the chronic intestinal stage is characterized by lower anti-SEA (soluble egg antigen) responsiveness in contrast to higher antiSWAP (soluble worm antigen preparation) responsiveness [2,3]
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