Human hydatidosis with different therapeutic modalities

Abstract

Introduction In early phase of hydatidosis, the Th1 mediates protective immunity against the parasite and helps to eliminate the larval stage, whereas later, the Th2 subset promotes humoral immune response and reflects susceptibility to disease. Aim of the study To investigate the local immunohistochemical pattern of T cell populations in Egyptian patients exposed to variable therapeutic modalities and to identify the dominating type of T cells in patients infected with hydatidosis using two immunocellular markers (STAT-4 and GATA-3), representing Th1 and Th2, respectively, and to evaluate systemic immune response using commercially available indirect hemagglutination (IHA) test. Patients, materials, and methods Forty-five cases with human hydatidosis were enrolled and divided according to treatment they received into four groups. Fresh samples of hydatid cyst wall were fixed in 10% formalin for immunohistochemical examination. Antibody titer was measured using commercial available IHA test. Results Significantly higher expression levels of GATA-3 in comparison with STAT-4 were recorded in all studied groups. Unexpectedly, IHA test recorded positive findings in only 22 of the 45 cases, exhibiting difficulty in the diagnosis and prognosis of such parasitic infection. Conclusion These local and systemic immunological profiles may reflect the efficiency of the parasite to sequestrate its antigen away from the host immune system applying variable therapeutic modalities with pronounced overshadowed Th2 response. Consequently, these data may help to develop new immunotherapeutic strategies to successfully eliminate this serious helminthic infection.